Halo: Equestrian Run
by RampageH
Summary: Spartan Michael Griffin finds himself in Equestria. The first to welcome him is none other than Nightmare Moon herself, who was not destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. What will the rest of Equestria do if they found out of Nightmare Moon's existence? Will Michael defend her? Rated T for swearing, blood, and violence. Constructive feedback is also accepted. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Yeah I know it's a short chapter, but it's a prologue. So I meant for it to be short. The rest of the chapters are much, much longer. Anyways, enjoy reading my first fanfic!**

**_Prologue_**

It was a rainy night. The chimera had been sulking around in the forest, carefully staying hidden from anyone who might see him.

He began to mutter, "I wonder how I even escaped the statue…"

Its ears began to perk up as if something caught its attention.

"Wonder what that was," it said as it began to slowly maneuver through the trees towards the source of the disturbance.

It was completely dark in the forest, not to mention dangerous. But the chimera new that the creatures who lived there feared him. The large canopy of trees allowed very little water to reach the ground, allowing the darkness to be fairly dry. He could easily turn the world he was in completely upside down, but he was very weak from his last encounter with them. **Them.** He hated them. They always ruined all the fun. He almost beat them too, but there was always that one who would figure a way around his plans. Why did they even try to stop him? What he was doing was fun, right?

These thoughts pondered in his head while he drew closer to the disturbance. There was a clearing ahead. At the edge of the clearing was a bridge. At the end of the bridge, an old crumbling structure.

"Haven't been here in a while," he muttered, moving leaves aside to get a better view. He glanced around the area, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary…

There! He saw a shadow dash into the entrance of the old structure.

"Hmm… that looked like a… no way. They are extinct. And it was way taller than any I had seen before."

He moved toward the structure carefully, staying in the shadows. As he reached the bridge, he made a graceful jump to the other side, landing with a light tap that blended in with the raining. He slithered on his belly toward the structure and slowly scaled it. He stopped at a window and glanced in. What he saw amazed him. The shadow he saw was a human! At least he thought it was. It was fairly larger than an average human, and kind of seemed to be a robot, but deciphered it as armor. Anyway, the human was surrounded by a dark blue aurora. It was being held in the air by a levitation spell. And on the other side of the room, the caster was none other than…

The chimera's mouth slowly formed into a smirk as it whispered, "Nightmare Moon."


	2. Chapter 1: The Mare of the Night

**_Chapter 1: _****_The Mare of the Night_**

The tall figure trudged through the mud, seeking shelter. It was rainy, and he didn't like getting its armor wet. Water in large amounts usually causes his shields to malfunction.

"I really need to get these shields fixed," he muttered.

He was on a muddy gravel trail of some sort, simply following it hoping to find civilization. The trail was surrounded by trees, which extended over the trail, preventing any light to get through. He looked around at the trees on each side of him. The darkness out there was definitely blood chilling, but he was trained to not fear things like that. But he swore he saw silhouettes in the distance lurking about.

He suddenly got the feeling of being watched. He stopped dead in his tracks and glanced around at the trees again. Nothing seemed entirely out of the ordinary, but he still felt it. He stared at a puddle at his feet. Looking back at him was a black helmet with a dark purple stripe going down the center. In the middle of the helmet was a dark purple visor. He loved the colors. It reminded him of the beautiful night. But he certainly disgusted this particular night. The clouds overhead completely blocked the wonderful starry night sky. At least he thought it was night. He had no idea where he was. The rain was also very unnerving, adding more gloom to the world. Luckily he could see fine thanks to his visor. It allowed him to get a brighter, clear view of his surroundings, without the annoying greenish coloring regular night vision would have.

He continued on his way down the path.

After a few hours of walking, the silhouette of an old looking structure came into view.

"Finally!" He shouted, "I've been walking for hours!"

He walked into a clearing. There were flowers of all sorts littering the ground around him. If only it was a clear night, the flower meadow would have been beautiful. At the edge was a bridge extending over a ravine with a strong water current flowing at the bottom. He walked to the bridge and checked the wooden planks to see if it could hold his weight. He stepped on the first one and slowly added more weight until his full weight was on it. But before he could even reach a quarter of his weight, the plank snapped and he tumbled forward, almost crushing the rest of the planks in front of him and tumbling into the water. Luckily, he was also trained to keep well balance and easily prevented such a tragedy.

"I don't think this is going to hold my weight," he said sarcastically, "Time to do it the hard way."

He took a few steps back to get a good distance between him and the cliff. He was going to jump it. But before he could, he got the feeling of being watched again. He glanced around behind him, watching the dark forest stare right back at him. He shook off the feeling and returned his attention to the jump he was going to make.

He took off at a quick speed and sprinted towards the cliff. As soon as he got to the edge, he pushed upwards and began to soar over the ravine. He was falling too quickly though. He wasn't going to make it. Thoughts rushed through his mind as he flew towards the cliff. He was falling to fast to grab on. He then remembered his thruster pack. He activated it at the last second.

"Shiiiiiit!" he shouted as the thruster pack launched him the remaining distance onto the solid ground.

He breathed heavily just at the shock of it.

"Alright," he said to himself, "It was just a jump. You're fine. How'd I forget my thruster pack anyway?"

He was lying on his stomach and rolled over to see what was above him. And towering in front of him was the structure he saw.

"Oh well," he mumbled, "Shelter is shelter."

He was about to enter, but once again, he got the watching feeling again. _'OK,' _he thought, _'There is definitely something out there.'_

He did a quick glance at the forest but saw nothing. He shrugged and dashed inside before anything else could take place. Once inside, he surveyed the area.

The room was exceptionally gloomy. The entire structure was made of a dark blue stone, making the room itself feel darker. He walked forward toward the center of the room. At the back, there seemed to be an old, crumbling throne.

He stopped in the middle of the large room. "Was this a palace or something?"

Suddenly something moved out from behind the throne. He tried to react, but somehow couldn't.

"What the-!" he said, confused at why he couldn't move. Looking down, he noticed his body was enveloped by a dark blue aurora. He was slowly being lifted into the air.

"Why can't I move?!" he kept saying, flailing in the air.

A voice suddenly spoke out in a harsh tone, "Who are you?"

The voice was coming from one of the shadows in the corner of the room. It was a female's voice, but lower-pitched.

"Why would I tell someone who is restraining me against my will my identity?"

"Because if you do not tell," the voice continued, "Then your existence will be completely wiped from the face of this world."

"That's a harsh way of putting it."

"What's your name already?!" the voice asked in an annoyed tone.

"Fine! Just calm it a little, OK? I am Spartan Michael Griffin, Lieutenant Colonel of Omega Squad. But, you can call me Michael. My service tag is

O-043, which stands for Omega-"

"Alright, Michael!" the voice boomed, "No need for the extras! Any way, are you a human?"

"Yes."

"I thought they were extinct! And you're quite large in height for one."

"Before I explain, what are you?" Michael asked.

The shadowy figure stepped out into the light coming in from a nearby window, revealing a… unicorn? But it also had wings, so what was it? Her coat was what seemed to be a pitch black, but she was wearing multiple gauntlets on each of her hooves. She was also wearing a sort of helmet. The helmet and gauntlets were colored a midnight blue. Her hair billowed around her as if a constant breeze was flowing. It was also a dark blue and contained stars, giving the impression of a starry night sky.

"What's up with the floating hair?" was Michael's first question.

"My… hair?" she asked, "Oh! You mean my mane. I always thought it was flowing like this because I played an important role to this world. Along with Celestia."

"What's a Celestia?" Michael asked.

"You'll find out later," the winged unicorn said.

"Uh… What's your name?"

"Nightmare Moon," she said as a look of guilt spread over her face.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked.

"Nothing… It's fine."

"OK… Anyway, what **is** your important role on this world?"

"Well my role **was** to raise the moon and create stars to create a beautiful night."

"Wait… So you're saying that without you, the night would never come?"

"Nope. The moon would never rise…"

"So you're the one that makes the night so comforting."

"Yes, I… Wait what?" she asked, surprised.

"What?" Michael asked, afraid he said something offensive.

"You… Enjoy the night?"

"Yeah. It's really relaxing. I love the stars the most though. They add a dreamy feel to the night, which makes it even more enjoyable."

"I didn't know anyone really appreciated the night." She said sadly.

"Why would anyone hate the night?" Michael asked, "It's amazing."

The winged unicorn looked at Michael with a sorrowful expression before speaking, "I did some things that I'm not really proud of."

"Well, you want to talk about it?" Michael asked.

"Y-Yes… I would like that."

"Can you put me down first? I promise I won't try anything."

"OK, Michael," Nightmare Moon said as she lowered him to the ground and released him.

"How are you able to do that anyway?" he asked.

"Magic. Anypony with horns such as mine can perform magic."

"Anypony? You mean you're not the only talking unicorn?"

"No, there are many more," she replied, "And I'm not a unicorn. I'm an alicorn. Alicorns have both a horn and wings."

"Are there any others?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Nightmare Moon replied, "There are unicorns, who only have a horn. Then there are pegasi, which only have wings. Lastly, there are Earth ponies, who don't have either."

"Seems boring to be an Earth pony," Michael said.

"Actually, Earth ponies have their own advantages. They are ten times as strong as a Unicorn or Pegasus. Unicorn's advantage is magic. Pegasi's advantage is flying, usually at very high speeds."

Michael looked completely dumbfounded, "Yeah… Where am I exactly?"

"You are in Equestria, Michael."

Michael stared at her for a moment before speaking, "How come I've never heard of a world called Equestria?"

"I don't know honestly," Nightmare Moon said, "Do you know a lot of planets or something?"

"Well Spartans tend to learn many things about the universe."

"Spartans?" she asked with a confused look.

"Oh yeah… Well… I… er… OK let me explain. Back on Earth-"

She cut him off, "No need to explain."

"Huh?"

"Just don't move, I got this," she said as her horn began to glow. She walked up to Michael and placed her horn on his helmet. His shields began to flicker, so he jumped back.

"What are you doing?!" he asked, cautious of what the alicorn could do.

"Don't worry, I was going to read your mind to save the explanation. It seems you'll have to take that helmet off."

"Oh, alright," Michael said as he took the helmet off. Nightmare Moon noticed his short black hair. His eyes were cyan colored and he had a light skin tone.

"Y-You're beautiful…" she whispered.

"Wait… what?" Michael asked.

"I-I said… Are you r-ready?"

"Oh yeah, I'm ready. Thought you said something else for a moment there."

Nightmare Moon walked up to him and raised her glowing horn up to his forehead. But he stopped it before it touched.

"Are you sure you want to see what's been happening for the last fifty years back in my universe?" Michael asked, "Some of that stuff is pretty harsh."

"I am willing to, if you are alright with it."

"OK… but I warned you…"

This put Nightmare Moon's decision on edge. Eventually, she raised her horn to his forehead. As soon as it touched, Michael's eyes changed to a deep blue glow as Nightmare Moon went through his memories. Images and scenes flowed into her mind. Childhood. Kidnapping. Dr. Halsey. Training. Master Chief. Insurrection. Covenant. Noble Team. Flood. Death. Destruction. Lost friends. Scorched planets. War… She saw it all. It was too much. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. It was too sad. What kind of world did he live in? She saw him in action too. He was more dangerous than she thought. Fast, strong, and smart. She jerked her horn away. She couldn't take it anymore. She gazed toward the ground, crying softly.

Michael awoke from his trance and held his head for a moment as his eyes returned to their natural cyan color. He noticed Nightmare Moon sobbing and rushed to her, dropping his helmet.

He stroked her mane, "Are you alright? Was it too much?"

"M-Michael? It was… awful… So much death and hurting…"

"Don't worry, I'm not affected by those memories anymore."

"B-But what about all those friends you lost?" she asked, "What about your family?"

"When I saw my friends die, I shed a single tear," he replied, "It hurt to see them in pain, but there was nothing I could do for them."

Nightmare Moon's crying slowed and began to stop.

Michael continued, "As for my family, I haven't known them since I was five. I'm twenty-three now, so I don't have any memories of them."

Nightmare Moon's crying ceased with her only sniffling every now and then.

"I haven't seen so much war…" she muttered.

"Don't you have any wars here, on Equestria?" Michael asked.

"None at all," she said, "There were a few incidents though. A being named Discord corrupted the world for a little bit, but was stopped real quickly. Then an army known as Changelings led by Queen Chrysalis invaded the capital of Canterlot. They didn't really hurt anypony though. They just captured guards and messed things up a bit. They were stopped just as quickly as Discord was though."

"Wow. This place must really be peaceful."

"It is… but…" she trailed off.

"But what?"

"I caused a bit of trouble too…"

Michael's expression changed to a frown, "Like what?"

"I was once one with one of the princesses known as Princess Luna," she began, "She was jealous and angry at her sister, Princess Celestia."

"That's who Celestia is…" Michael muttered.

Nightmare Moon continued, "Her angry emotions allowed me to take over. We each wanted revenge, and I fueled our rage."

"What did you two do?"

"No one appreciated the night. Everyone feared it. We wanted them to love us as much as they loved our sister, Celestia."

"Nightmare, what did you two do?"

"We… We brought down an eternal night!" her voice began to rise, her eyes teeming with rage.

"That would teach them!" she continued, "It would teach them to appreciate the night! That would teach Celestia to not banish us to the moon!"

Michael shouted, "Nightmare! Calm down!"

She realized her rage and took a few deep breaths, "I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I know how you feel. But why are you stressing over it now? It's over with, right?"

"Yes it's over," she said, "But when they defeated us, I was separated from Princess Luna's body."

"Why is it such a bad thing?"

"Michael, they think I'm **_dead_**. They thought that Nightmare Moon was erased from the very existence. But here I am, alive and well."

"Why not just present yourself to the Princesses on the spot?"

"Michael, are you crazy? They will definitely kill me! I've done nothing but bad things and they just won't forgive me."

"OK, I admit. That was a pretty dumb question of mine."

Nightmare Moon then turned her gaze and looked directly at Michael's eyes with her teal ones, "But I'm glad I met you, Michael. I've finally met someone who appreciates the work I do. At least you didn't attack me on the spot."

"I wouldn't have attacked you in the first place, but you levitated me in the air before I could say anything."

"Yeah… Sorry about that…" Nightmare Moon grinned at him sheepishly.

"Hey, it's alright. At least you didn't blast me on the spot."

She stood up on her legs and placed a hoof on Michael's shoulder, "Thank you, Michael, for giving me something to live for."

"Don't worry. I know reasoning better than anyone. By the way, can I spend the night here? I haven't rested in about a week."

"Sure thing… Wait, a week?!"

"Spartans can stay awake for a while before growing tired."

"Wow," she said, a smirk on her face, "Anyway, go ahead. I don't mind having such an open-minded guest."

"Thanks, Nightmare," Michael said as he put his helmet back on, laying down on the cold stone floor.

After a few minutes of silence, Nightmare Moon spoke up, "Michael, are you leaving in the morning?"

"I'm planning to, why?"

"Don't leave me for long, it gets lonely…"

"OK, Nightmare…" he said, "Haven't really had a friend, huh?"

"I forgot what it was like, it's a wonderful feeling. I've never felt joy in a thousand years."

"You've lived a thousand years?! I couldn't stand such boredom."

Nightmare Moon chuckled, "You'd be surprised."

"Goodnight, Nightmare Moon," Michael sighed.

"Goodnight, Michael."

Michael turned over and closed his eyes. How'd he end up on this world in the first place? Where will he go tomorrow? He pushed the questions aside. He'll just wait for them to be answered. He shut down his mind and immediately drifted into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Manticores and Magic

**_Chapter 2:_** **_Manticores and Magic_**

**_Location:_** Canterlot Royal Palace

The white alicorn stood on the balcony of the tower, gazing down at her kingdom below. It was nighttime, but the street lamps gave a beautiful view of the city. Nopony was seen, all sound asleep in their homes. It was raining too, but the alicorn didn't mind. More important thoughts were on her mind, thoughts that were greatly important compared to getting soaked. How did he escape the statue? Is he still a threat?

Her thoughts were interrupted when another alicorn entered the balcony. She was significantly smaller than the white alicorn, with a dark blue coat with a mane, like Nightmare Moon's, that resembled the starry night sky. She looked at her sister, the white alicorn, with a worried expression.

She spoke, "Sister, why are you out in the rain?"

The white alicorn turned to look at her sister, still saying nothing.

"It's about Discord isn't it?" the smaller alicorn muttered.

A few minutes of silence followed, with nothing but the rain pattering on the balcony. The sisters stared at one another, unsure of what to say.

"Luna," the white alicorn began, "What if he threatens the balance of harmony again?"

The smaller alicorn, known as Luna, said, "He doesn't have the power to, sister. He somehow managed to escape, but he should be powerless as of right now… right?"

"I don't know anymore, Luna," the white alicorn said, clearly worried, "I can't wrap my head around how he managed to replicate the statue."

"Celestia," Luna said, "I have a feeling he didn't do that."

The white alicorn, known as Celestia spoke, "How do you know?"

"I don't know," Luna said, "It's just a feeling, you know? It's like, digging at me, telling me that someone else may have set him free."

"But who would want to release chaos once again?" Celestia asked.

"Hmm…" Luna thought about this, "What if… the person who released him… did it by accident?"

Celestia stared at her sister. What she was saying actually made sense. "Probably. But we have to find him fast, before he causes any trouble."

"Agreed," Luna said, "If anywhere, he would be hiding in the Everfree by Ponyville."

"That place is too dangerous, Luna. We can't risk the lives of our guards."

"I guess we can just wait until he does something. He's been free for a few days now, and yet nothing has happened."

"Maybe he isn't too much of a threat as of right now, but later he may prove otherwise."

Luna and Celestia both gazed at the cloudy night sky. Celestia shivered. "Maybe we should go inside and get some rest."  
"Yes. This rain may give us a severe cold if we ponder in it too long," Luna said.

Celestia turned towards the doorway and walked inside with Luna.

Luna leaned against Celestia as she spoke, "Sister, there is nothing to worry about. The kingdom will be fine."

She embraced her sister before heading off down the hallway.

"I hope so, Luna."

**_8 Hours Later…_**

_Location:__ Everfree Forest _

Michael awoke with a start, jolting up and shouting. He was sweating heavily and was shaking violently, trying to recall what had happened. He looked over at Nightmare Moon, who was stirring from the outburst, thankfully still asleep.

'Glad I didn't wake her up,' Michael thought, 'Did I just have a nightmare?'

Michael looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember what it was about. He knew it had something to do with Nightmare Moon. They… were here, at the old structure… in this very room. There were six other ponies outside the entrance. Each of them wore a piece of jewelry. One of them, a purple colored pony, wore a crown. They entered the structure, where Nightmare Moon was waiting for them. It seems that Nightmare Moon was their enemy.

Then the weird part happened. Each of the six ponies began to float up into the air, the stones on their jewelry letting out a glow. The lights coming from the stones combined until a white light surrounded the entire group of ponies. After they all combined, a rainbow shot from their group and headed straight for Nightmare Moon. A look of… terror spread across Nightmare Moon's face as the rainbow surged towards her.

But, right before the rainbow touched, a… Spartan appeared through the doors. He wore the same armor Michael did; accept the visor was a beautiful green, instead of the dark purple. The stripes were also a green instead of dark purple. Michael was curious as to who this Spartan was.

The Spartan noticed the rainbow heading for Nightmare Moon. He immediately ran at lightning speeds towards the group and… **_jumped_** into the light. He tackled the purple pony in midair and they both soared to the ground. As they collided, a bright light flashed brighter than the original, and the entire room was filled with it. The entire image of the dream was blinded by the white light, ending the scene.

Michael was shocked at what he dreamed of. What did it mean? Usually he would care nothing of such a dream, but it seemed… different from other dreams. It seemed too real, as if it was a sign.

He glanced at Nightmare Moon, who was still sound asleep.

'I guess it was just a dream,' he thought.

He got up and walked over to the window. All he could see were trees and the path he took to get here.

"Well, if I got here one way, then the other must lead somewhere," he muttered.

He checked his arsenal… or what was left of it. All he had were two pulse grenades and his combat knife.

He unsheathed the blade and did a couple practice swings. He did a reverse hand under swing, an over swing, and finished with a direct stab. As he ended, he realized he was facing Nightmare Moon, who was still asleep.

'I wonder if she just sleeps during the day,' he thought.

He sheathed his blade and turned to walk out the door. But before he stepped out, he gazed back at her.

"I promise to return," he whispered.

He saw her move a bit, as if she heard his words. He looked ahead, and headed out the door.

It was a beautiful morning. Michael noticed the meadow on the other side of the ravine. The flowers were in full bloom and the colors were more distinct than the previous night. The sun shined down on the water glistened petals, making it look as if the flowers emanated light. But surrounding the glorious meadow was the dark forest. Even in daylight… it still seemed dark.

Michael didn't even think about the ravine. He simply sprinted up to the edge and jumped, activating his thruster pack in midair. He landed with a forward roll and began to sprint down the path into the forest.

Michael gained momentum as he continued to rush down the forest path at high speeds. He made many twists and turns around trees, nearly tripping a few times. He even passed a nasty looking bog, where hundreds of large gas bubbles burst at the surface.

'Glad I got my helmet on,' he thought, 'Wouldn't want to smell the air here.'

The path led all the way around the bog. As he reached the other side, he looked back at the bog. He thought he saw movement in the water.

'That definitely seemed like something gigantic is under there,' he thought, speeding up even more to get out of there before anything could happen.

He was still racing down the path, not knowing anything about where he was going.

"Sure would be nice if Elisha were here right now," he muttered under his breath, "That crazy AI. Where did she go anyway?"

Down the path he went, ignoring any movement in the trees. His motion sensor was going nuts, white blips popping in and out as it detected the various life forms around him.

Then he noticed one large blip in particular that seemed to be following him. It would disappear, and then reappear closer to him. This was really freaking him out.

The dot was getting closer and closer to him. He was moving fast, but apparently not fast enough. The dot grew in size, becoming even bigger on the motion sensor. He turned his attention in front of him, only to see a shadow cast on the ground. The dot was pretty much on top him on the motion sensor, and this time it was red. The armor had detected it as a threat, and Michael had to act fast.

He turned and threw a kick out at whatever was behind him. His foot collided with solid bone, and whatever it was got sent off course into a more upward trajectory. It soared up a few feet above the ground before landing in a dazed heap. He stopped running and ran back towards the creature to see what it was. As he approached, he immediately noticed a lion's body. Its chin was pretty busted up, probably where Michael kicked it. But then Michael noticed wings. And lying behind its body was a scorpion tail.

"A manticore?!" he shouted, "This world has all the fantasy creatures!"

His shouting aroused the dazed manticore as it began to growl a bit. Michael froze in place as the manticore stood up and rubbed its chin. Then its eyes narrowed on him. Michael's blood froze as the manticore growled again at him.

"Uh… hi?" he said.

In response, the manticore let out a deafening roar, which shook the entire forest.

"Bring it on, big boy," Michael said.

The manticore seemed to understand his words as it let out another ear piercing roar. It backed up a bit, and then charged at Michael in an attempt to pounce him.

Michael jumped to the side and dodged the raging manticore. Its scorpion tail was swinging back and forth, trying to hit Michael whenever the manticore missed its attack.

Michael ducked and weaved as he dodged the manticore's pounces. The tail was coming straight at him again. He noticed a green fluid dripping from its tail, probably poison. The tail swung at him again, causing some of the poison to splash at Michael. His shields flickered upon touching the liquid.

This caused his shields to block his vision for a second, allowing the tail to swing back around.

Michael was still distracted from his shields, so he didn't see the tail coming at him at full speed. His vision cleared right when the tail was in his face.

It collided with his helmet, sending him flying right through several trees before crashing into the ground.

"Ugh…" He groaned as he held his head. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, unhurt but dazed from the hit. Then he noticed something. His beautiful dark purple visor had a nice series of cracks going down the left side of his helmet.

"Aww… isn't that just perfe- SHIT!" he shouted as he jumped to the side at the last second. The manticore's tail slammed into the ground where he was just standing. He tried to get a good look at the giant beast, but the crack was too distracting. He looked at the pulse grenades attached to his chest. He was reluctant to use them, since he was planning to save them for something more important. He could take this manticore down; at least he thought he could.

The manticore made a leap at him, sure of having a new exotic creature for lunch. The manticore drew closer. Right before it made contact, Michael sidestepped to the right and brought his elbow down on its skull. The manticore let out a yelp as it crashed into the ground. It lay there, unmoving. It did take a hit to the skull from a Spartan after all.

Michael took a second to examine the manticore. Its chest was slowly rising and falling, which meant it was still alive. Michael decided that he should leave before it wakes up.

Michael almost thought it was the evening, since the trees block out almost all sunlight. But eventually he saw an opening at the end of the gravel path. He immediately picked up speed. He rushed towards the light, excited that he would finally be out of the forest. As he reached it, the light blinded his vision. He shielded his eyes and gasped.

"Wow."

**_Location:_**_ Canterlot Royal Palace_

It was morning in Canterlot. Princess Celestia was seated upon her throne, writing a letter on a scroll. A guard who burst through the doors interrupted her. He was followed by two pegasi, who landed on each side of them.

"Princess!" he shouted as he ran to her.

"What is it? Did you find Discord?" Celestia asked, almost showing her fear.

"No, Princess, it's…" the guard began to whisper into her ear.

Celestia was intent, curious as to what he was describing.

The guard finished informing Celestia of what he had witnessed. Celestia was listening, a stern look on her face. She was in deep thought. What the guard was saying eluded her.

"… and then it dashed off down the forest path, too fast for me to fly after it!" the guard said.

"What did the creature look like?" Celestia asked.

"All I could make out is the metal shell it wore, your majesty."

Celestia was puzzled, "Metal shell…?"

The guard thought he said something wrong, "Er… yes, your majesty."

An uneasy silence followed as Celestia began to think this through. What kind of creature wears a metal shell?

'I know all the plants and animals of this world!' she thought, 'What could it be?'

"Did it seem dangerous?" she asked the guard.

"It definitely was, your majesty," the guard answered, "It took down a manticore in one blow!"

Celestia stared at the guard, unsure of what to do. Just then Luna walked in, alerted by the commotion.

"Sister," she asked, "What's going on? Did they find Discord?"

Celestia turned to look at her sister with a smile. But it quickly changed to a frown.

"Sadly, no," she said, "But they found something even more interesting."

Luna frowned, "What could be more interesting?"

"Well they found a creature fighting a manticore."

"Oh my… is it alright?"

"According to the guard, it's more than alright."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, trying to figure out what her sister was getting at.

"The creature took the manticore out with a single hit," Celestia said, "Then the creature darted down the forest path towards Ponyville."

Luna looked surprise, "What kind of creature can beat a manticore with a single hit? And it was physical?"

"But what eludes me the most is the fact that it was wearing a metal shell," Celestia commented.

A look of complete bewilderment struck Luna's face, "Hmm… I honestly don't know what it could be. The only ponies I know that can take down a manticore in one hit are you, me, and possibly Twilight Sparkle. And that's with magic!"

The two Princesses stared at each other for a moment. Then Celestia turned to her guards.

"Guard, send a team of ten ponies to search the area of the Everfree where you saw the creature. Report back in a few hours."

"Yes, your majesty," the guard said, turning to walk out the door.

The door shut, echoing throughout the throne room, leaving a dead silence lingering in the air. After a few minutes, Luna spoke up.

A sudden look of realization appeared on her face, "Sister!" she shouted.

Celestia became worried, "What? What is it?!"

Luna's words stumbled out of her mouth, "What if… What if it's a… human?"

Celestia's face returned to its normal stern gaze as she calmed down, "Luna, humans haven't existed for thousands of years. I also don't think one can take a manticore down singlehandedly while wearing a heavy metal shell."

Luna frowned, "Oh… Sorry sister."

"Don't worry, Luna," Celestia replied, "We'll get to the bottom of this."

**_Location: _**_Edge of Everfree_

Michael stumbled out into the light, covering his eyes from the sudden brightness. Once they adjusted, he took a look around. There was a clearing in front of him, also littered with colorful flowers. There was a stream full of beautiful clear water flowing to the right, with a bridge escalating over it. Just passed the bridge, Michael noticed a… What is that?! It looked like a huge tree, but had windows and a door. The area surrounding the house was completely populated with birdhouses. They were on the porch, on the grass, even on the tree itself! The thought that first came into Michael's mind was an animal hoarder. Animals were all over the place! Bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels, you name it!

'Someone really loves animals,' he said as he approached the tree. He stepped onto the bridge and stopped, gazing down into the water. There were tons of fish living in the stream, gracefully swimming around, enjoying each other's company. But as soon as Michael's shadow covered them, they darted away, hiding in various holes and coral. Michael shrugged and continued on.

The closer he got to the tree, the more animals he noticed. His motion sensor was completely distorted, thanks to the scorpion tale that smacked him in the face. Now he couldn't really tell if any were a threat. Not that chipmunks can be a threat, but on this planet, you never know.

He neared the tree, and noticed the door. It was half open as if someone had just recently been through it. Then he began to here voices inside. One sounded like a young female's voice. The other sounded like a really timid girl.

The timid one spoke first, "Um… Thanks again Twilight for helping me with the animals."

"No problem, Fluttershy," the other one, known as 'Twilight' said, "That's what friends are for. Anyway, I have to get back to Spike so…"

She suddenly stopped talking.

Michael was curious as to why she stopped, and peered through a window. He saw two ponies. One was a unicorn. Her coat was lavender and her mane was purple with a pink streak coming down the middle. She had an emblem on her flank. It was a six pointed red star surrounded by several white stars. The other pony was a pegasus. Her coat was a buttery yellow color. The mane and tail were each pink. Her mane was draped mostly on her right side. She seemed to be the shyer one he heard. Her emblem was three butterflies.

The lavender pony was looking around suspiciously.

"T-Twilight… What's wrong?" the timid pony asked.

Twilight was still gazing around, "Someone is watching us."

Michael's heart immediately sunk. How did she know?

Twilight was approaching the window he was at. She peered through, expecting to find somepony. But she found nothing.

"Hmm… I was sure someone was watching us."

Michael was crouched below the window. Out of sight, he was still able to tell she was there.

Twilight spoke, "Hey, Fluttershy, I'm going outside to check."

Michael heard the door creak open as Twilight peeked out.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?"

He stepped back and crawled into a bush. He peered out of an opening. Twilight was coming his way. She stopped in front of the bush.

She pondered for a moment, "I know someone is out here."

"INCOMING!" another voice shouted, this time in the sky. Twilight turned and looked up at the source of the voice. Michael looked up at the sky too. But he was too slow. A cyan collared pegasus was nose diving straight at him.

"Why me…" he whispered.

The pegasus crashed into him and they both tangled for a moment until Michael lay as still as a rock.

"Ow… What the hay?!" the cyan pegasus shouted. Michael noticed her mane and tail were both rainbows.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted, "Are you alright?"

"Well either than hitting a solid rock, I'm fine!" she replied annoyed, rubbing her head with a hoof.

Michael was surprised. She didn't notice him? Brilliant.

"You really need to work on that landing," Twilight said, giggling.

"Yeah… Whatever…" Rainbow Dash crawled out of the bush and stood up.

"What're you doing here anyway?" Twilight asked.

"Not much of a reason…" Rainbow Dash boasted, "Just came by to show you a couple of SUPER cool tricks I tried!"

"Well, you can't show me," Twilight stated, "I have to check on Spike."

"Then who do I show?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know! Maybe Fluttershy."

"But Fluttershy is such a wuss! She wouldn't be impressed!" Rainbow shouted, "She'd just be like, 'Oh… that was very good, Rainbow Dash.'"

"Don't say thinks like that!" Twilight groaned, "Fluttershy is shy and that's her character! You can't change that."

The two turned and walked back towards the tree. Michael slowly stood up behind the bush. Walking as quietly as he could, he tiptoed out of the bush. But of course, a twig decided to be right under his foot at that moment and he stepped on it, letting out a loud crunch.

Michael froze. Did he want to turn around? Going against himself, he reluctantly turned his head until he was looking directly at the two ponies. Sure enough, they were each staring straight at him.

Rainbow Dash immediately bulked up, "Twilight! Stun it with some magic and I'll take it down!"

Twilight, not knowing what this creature is capable of, obeyed her friend. Her horn was engulfed in a pink aurora and a laser was released at Michael.

As soon as it touched Michael's helmet, it spread over his body and faded. His shields reacted with the magic and absorbed it, but completely depleting its energy.

"Hit it again Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Michael was unsure of what to do. Should he fight back? He didn't necessarily want to harm these creatures.

But sure enough, Twilight launched another laser from her horn. Michael's shields were down this time, so it would probably get to him. Thinking fast, Michael activated his hard-light shield and placed it infront of him. The laser rebounded harmlessly off the shield and flew upward into the sky.

"What kind of shield deflects magic?!" Twilight shouted.

Growing impatient, Rainbow Dash charged at Michael. He simply raised his shield. She crashed right into it and flew back, stunned by the collision. Once again, Twilight shot another magic burst at Michael and he simply deflected it with his shield.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash groaned, "Just use your levitation spell."

Twilight looked surprised, "Oh, right. Almost forgot about that."

Her horn was once again engulfed by a pink aurora. Michael was also engulfed by the same one, and was being lifted into the air.

'Damnit!' he thought, 'I hate that spell.'

His hard-light shield switched off and his shields wouldn't recharge. It seems the magic was blocking his armor functions.

Seeing her opportunity, Rainbow Dash once again charged at him. He tried raising his arms to stop he, but couldn't move them. The rainbow pegasus barreled into him and they both crashed into the ground. Rainbow Dash ended up standing on top his chest, thinking she was victorious, "Yeah! Take that you big stupid metal… thing!"

The crash didn't really bother Michael. He was a Spartan after all. He simply picked her up off his chest and carried her in one arm. Her wings were stuck in between her body and his arm, so she couldn't get free.

"Let go of my friend!" Twilight shouted as she launched about ten lasers at Michael.

He had no time to react as they all hit him on various parts of his armor. A feeling of dizziness and nausea overcame him as he dropped the pegasus and clutched his head. His vision was swimming and was blurry. He stumbled around and tried leaning on a tree, but fell over into a bush. A headache took over and was driving him nuts. It felt like he was spinning around extremely fast. The best thing he could do was close his eyes. The next thing he knew, he was out.


	4. Chapter 3- Misunderstandings

**_Chapter 3: Misunderstandings_**

_Chimera POV_

The chimera was watching Michael the whole time. He had watched as Nightmare Moon appeared from the shadows and restrained him. He had watched as Michael befriended her and listened to her, instead of thinking she was hostile. Michael was different from the humans he'd seen in the past. They were terrible people who took advantage of anyone when given the chance. Michael on the other hand, listened to the problems of a person, or pony he just met.

The chimera had eavesdropped on their overnight conversation, and learned a few things about Michael. For one, his world is far more technologically advanced than Equestria. Though they lack magic, the machines they built make up for it. Michael is a prime example of their technology. The suit of armor seemed durable enough to withstand anything. His rechargeable shield was even more protection, able to resist most things. Though magic seemed to be very effective against them, Michael would probably have dispatched the attacker before anything could happen. Michael was also the fastest runner he'd ever seen, and the strongest. Probably stronger than Applejack.

Nightmare Moon seemed truly sorry for her sins. She revealed her true feelings to Michael, which surprised the chimera a bit. She just met a human that was thought to be extinct, but his personality was enough to let her trust him. Nonetheless, the chimera still had a few questions in his mind. Was Nightmare Moon actually sorry? Or was she just using the human in some scheme? Anyway, the Mare of the Night allowed him to stay the night, which also shows her trust in him. She trusts him enough to know he won't harm her while she slumbers.

When morning came, the human gathered up the little possessions he had and headed out the door. He proved his speed by dashing over the ravine and sprinting down the path towards Ponyville. It was hard for the chimera to keep up.

As he followed Michael, he noticed a manticore flying above him, getting closer and closer to the human by the second.

'This will be good,' the chimera thought.

The human somehow new the manticore was following him, because he threw out a bone crushing kick that caught the manticore in the chin. It flew backward and crashed into the ground.

The chimera gazed through the trees and enjoyed the show.

Michael and the manticore didn't do much. Michael just dodged the manticore's attacks. But eventually some poison flew from the manticore's tail and landed on his shields. They flickered a moment, distracting Michael. This gave the manticore the chance to lash out with his tail again.

Michael didn't see it in time and was caught across the face with it. The durability of Michael's armor was proved as he crashed straight through several trees and landed on the ground, creating a small crater.

Michael got up, and the chimera noticed his cracked visor.

The manticore once again pounced at Michael. But the clever human simply sidestepped out of harm's way. And when the manticore's head was below him, he brought his elbow down on its skull.

The manticore yelped in pain as it crashed to the ground. The chimera was impressed. The human took a manticore down with a single physical attack. Michael's strength truly was comparable to Applejack's. Michael also mentioned something about armor speed enhancements, where he could sprint faster than now. Perhaps even as fast as Rainbow Dash flies.

The human sprinted down the path once again before the manticore regained consciousness.

The chimera barely kept up with him, because he didn't want to be detected by the human's "senses." Eventually, Michael made it to the edge of the Everfree, which opened up to a familiar clearing. The human stayed back a bit, checking for any threats before moving into the open. He didn't see anything but the hundreds of animals who dwell here. He left the cover of the trees and walked over to a bridge. The animals didn't seem to mind him, as if they knew he wouldn't harm them in any way.

The chimera was losing sight of the human, so he too moved closer. Right away, he noticed the tree cottage. Michael was nearing it, but then ducked behind a bush when he heard voices inside.

The chimera immediately recognized the voices. The first was none other than timid little Fluttershy. The other was pesky Twilight Sparkle. He didn't really like Twilight. She did ruin his "fun" after all.

The chimera overheard Twilight and Fluttershy talking about animals or something. But then, Twilight suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. What was wrong?

The chimera left his bush and climbed to the top of the tree cottage so he could hear better.

"Someone is watching us," Twilight said.

The chimera saw Michael was at the window now. He could tell the human was shocked that she somehow new someone was there. The lavender unicorn approached the window. Michael immediately ducked out of sight.

The chimera waited for Twilight Sparkle to open the window, but she never did. Instead she said, "Hey, Fluttershy, I'm going outside to check."

Michael heard the words as well, since he backed away from the window and sulked low under a bush. The chimera heard the door creak open as Twilight peeked through.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?"

She walked over to the window Michael was at and looked around a bit before muttering something. The chimera couldn't make out what she said.

"INCOMING!"

The chimera recognized that voice immediately. Cocky Rainbow Dash. The "Fastest Flyer in Equestria!" The chimera couldn't wait until she raced Michael.

He looked up to see the cyan pegasus crash right into Michael.

"Ow… What the hay?!" she shouted as she stood up. The chimera thought she had found Michael for sure.

"Well either than hitting a solid rock, I'm fine!"

Never mind. She really missed the metal human that she landed on? She can definitely be stupid sometimes.

Michael didn't move from his spot, so he was probably thinking the same thing.

The two ponies were arguing about something. Rainbow Dash was boasting and Twilight wasn't able to do something with her. Anyway, the two turned and walked toward the cottage. Michael saw his chance and rose from the bush and tiptoed a few yards toward the forest.

The chimera decided to mess with him and plucked a twig off the tree cottage. Then he tossed it in front of Michael. A perfect throw too, since Michael's foot landed right on it, letting out a satisfying snap.

Both ponies froze and immediately turned to the source of the sound. They stared at the human for a second, trying to process what they were looking at.

Michael on the other hand froze as soon as he stepped on the twig. He slowly turned and met the eyes of the two ponies. They just stood there for a few minutes.

Then Rainbow Dash shouted, "Twilight! Stun it with some magic and I'll take it down!"

Of course she would resort to offense. Twilight responded with a dizzy spell. She shot it straight at Michael who didn't seem like he knew what to do. The beam collided with his shields, which seemed to absorb it.

"Hit it again, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight launched another beam at Michael. His shields were down from the last beam, and now he was vulnerable. The chimera knew he was done for.

But at the last second he raised his arm and a blue shield emerge from it, deflecting the beam.

Twilight got pissed at what she saw. She tried to connect the dots as she wondered how he deflected magic. The chimera suppressed his laughter, as Rainbow Dash seemed to prepare to charge. And of course, she didn't think this decision through.

She flew straight at Michael, determined to take him down. Michael had lightning reactions though, and raised his shield in her direction. She crashed right into the shield and jumped back, stunned from the collision.

Frustrated, she shouted, "Twilight! Just use your levitation spell."

Twilight blushed, completely embarrassed that she forgot that spell. Her horn began to glow a pink aurora, as Michael was too enveloped. He rose into the air, while his magic-deflecting shield dissipated. The spell seemed to block his armor's functions.

Michael was helpless in the air. There was nothing he could do. Only until the very "smart" rainbow pegasus flew in and tackled him. She pretty much freed him from the levitation since that fall did absolutely nothing. The chimera chuckled a bit when he saw Michael pick up Rainbow Dash. She probably felt so dumb right now.

But Michael was holding her with his shielding arm, so he couldn't block the ten lasers that erupted from Twilight's horn. This was ten dizzy spells we're talking about. Ten on any regular being would knock them out cold before they hit the ground. But Michael, mentally toughened, was able to fight it a bit, before stumbling into a bush and passing out.

Twilight trotted over to the unconscious Spartan and levitated him inside Fluttershy's cottage.

The chimera was pretty amazed at what happened. A regular human being in Michael's place would have definitely crushed Rainbow Dash and then probably killed Twilight Sparkle too.

But Michael once again tried to be passive, and got caught for it. Well… it was kind of the chimera's fault, but he knew the ponies wouldn't harm Michael. At that he slithered down the tree and back into the forest. The ponies were lucky Michael was the one that was sent to Equestria.

The chimera brushed his thoughts aside as he saw a group of royal guards flying overhead. He stayed out of sight and wondered, 'What is the royal guard doing here? They probably figured out I escaped the stone statue.'

But then he heard one shout something about a metal creature. They must've seen Michael. Well, they're too late.

The chimera sulked in the underbrush as the guards flew overhead passed his hiding spot. Once they were out of sight, he emerged from his place and moved deeper into the forest.

But then a thought occurred to him. How did Rainbow Dash not see him on the roof of Fluttershy's cottage? She really must not pay attention if Discord HIMSELF was sitting on top the tree.

**_Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_**

_2 Hours Later…_

Rainbow Dash was sitting against the wall with a bored expression. They had just taken down a metal creature a couple hours ago and it was now on the floor of Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight said she needed to check on Spike and message the Princess about what they found. She said she'd be back later.

"What is taking Twilight sooo long?" Rainbow Dash moaned, "I don't know what to do!"

She stood up and walked over to the unconscious creature. She looked at his visor, admiring it.

"These shaded are the COOLEST though!" she exclaimed, "I wonder what it will do once it wakes up…"

Fluttershy walked in, "I hope it's a very nice monster when it wakes up."

"Yeah, I agree with you on that one," Rainbow Dash sighed, "When we were looking at it outside earlier, we saw a pair of eyes inside the super COOL shades. So we know it's not made entirely of metal."

Just then the door slammed open, and an orange Earth pony trotted in. Her mane and tail were blonde and she wore a Stetson hat. She spoke out in a southern accent.

"Ah came as fast as ah could, Rainbow Dash!" she shouted as she came in.

"Did Twilight get you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yup! She said she could use the extra horsepower!" Applejack replied with a grin, "Anyway, where is the… uh… creature thingy?"

"It's over here on the floor," Rainbow Dash replied as she led Applejack towards the center of the room. Applejack gasped as she saw it. "That thing's huge!"

"Yeah! I know right? Doesn't it have the COOLEST shades?!" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uh… yeah… I reckon so…" Applejack muttered.

She knocked on the metal shell. "Uh… is there anythin' in there?"

"We think so," Rainbow Dash replied, "There are eyes behind the shades."

"So your saying this thing attacked ya by surprise?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash was going to respond right away, but stopped herself. She was in deep thought before responding, "Actually, we kinda… attacked it first."

Applejack glared, "Then how do ya'll know it's evil then?"

Rainbow Dash smiled faintly, "We… uh… don't?

"Then why'd ya'll attack it?"

Rainbow Dash suddenly realized their mistake, "Wow… now that I think about it, it did seem like it was trying to sneak away. Now it'll probably be angry at us when it wakes up!"

"Don't worry, Rainbow," Applejack said, "That's why I'm here. If it gets rowdy, then I'll give it a good whoopin'!"

Rainbow Dash giggled, "Actually, Applejack, I think it may be stronger then you."

Applejack frowned, "Ain't no way some critter is stronger than me! Heck, if it wakes up and doesn't want ta fight us, then I'm gonna challenge it to an apple-bucking contest!"  
"Good luck with that, Applejack," Rainbow Dash teased.

_Michael POV_

Michael groaned as he opened his eyes. He had a terrible migraine that felt like someone was driving a nail through his brain. He was about to sit up when he noticed two ponies conversing in front of him. One was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. The other was an Earth pony. She had an orange coat and a blonde mane and tail. The Stetson hat sitting atop her head finished the look of a farm girl.

Michael went through a flashback as he remembered the rainbow pegasus.

'Her name was… Rainbow… Dash?' he thought. The other he never saw before. The two were arguing about him, how he may be stronger than the orange Earth pony. Oh, he was stronger than her all right.

Michael went through his options. He noticed the hard-light shield icon at the bottom of his visor. It was still functional along with his thruster pack. He could jump up and bash the ponies out of the way and get to the door. But he didn't want to harm them. He could've sworn he saw them from somewhere. But where?

He slowly turned his head and saw his knife and pulse grenades on the table. Thank God they didn't touch the grenades.

Michael slowly sat up when their backs were turned to him. Then he slowly stood up. He almost hit his head on the low ceiling designed for ponies only. He glanced at the table and slowly walked towards it, making sure his steps made no sound at all. The two ponies were still arguing about him. They were too distracted to notice him. As he reached the table, he grabbed his things, but didn't latch them to his chest yet. They would make a clinking noise when they attached. He turned to look back at the ponies, who were now on a different topic. Something about a race.

Things couldn't be going any smoother as he walked toward the nearest window. He unlatched it and slowly pushed it open. It made a loud creak on its hinges. Michael cursed himself as he turned to look back at the ponies. Thankfully, they were too busy arguing about that "race without wings."

Michael chuckled as he turned and dove out the window. He landed in the same bush he was in earlier and peeked out. No one had seen him. Good. Now all he had to do was leave. He rose from the bush and looked beyond the bridge that led him to the house in the first place. To the right was the dark forest he had just ventured through. To the left was a path that led back to an old fashioned looking town.

'The town it is,' he thought.

He stepped out of the bush and was about to run down the path when he heard someone shout.

"Hey! When did you wake up?!"

He turned around and looked at the door to the tree, and saw that lavender unicorn from the fight.

'Oh great, she was about to walk inside the house too,' he thought.

"Looks like I'll have to take you down again!" she shouted. Her horn was surrounded by the pink aurora.

Michael didn't feel like fighting right now. He still had that death migraine lurking about his mind. He didn't have time for this.

He held up his hands, "Wait! Why don't you listen before thinking I'm a threat!"

Twilight's horn immediately stopped glowing as her jaw dropped. "You can talk!?"

"No duh, genius," Michael said, a little annoyed, "Anyway, I'm not here to fight you or anyone living here. So you can stop trying to attack me."

Twilight felt bad, "Oh… man… I… er, I'm sorry, okay?"

"You're fine, earlier I was trying to sneak away until you guys assumed I was an enemy."

Twilight was taking this all in. The creature could talk, and it had its own feelings.

"Yeah…" she drooped her head, "I'm sorry about that. It's just… we've never seen anything like you before."

"I could tell," Michael said sternly.

"Look, I understand why you're upset, but first I need to know what you are," she said with a solemn look.

"Well, I'm a human."

That solemn gaze turned into a smile, as she burst into laughter. Michael rolled his eyes behind his visor and stood there, arms crossed, waiting for her to stop laughing.

Twilight laughed for a few minutes before the door to the tree house slammed open and three ponies poured out. Two of them were the rainbow and country ponies while the third was the butter colored pegasus he saw before he passed out. They looked at the unicorn rolling on the ground in laughter. They turned their gaze toward Michael with angered expressions. The Earth pony spoke first.

"What'd ya'll do ta Twilight?" she asked.

"N-Nothing I-"

"He probably used some laughing spell thingy on her!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"N-No! I just-"

"See? I told you it was bad news!" Rainbow Dash said as she cut him off again.

"SHUTUP!" Michael shouted. The three jumped back in shock. Even Twilight had stopped laughing and stared at him.

Michael continued, "I'm not here to harm ANY of you. OK? No fighting. Nothing. Just hear me out."

The butter pegasus spoke up, "Oh my. It can talk."

Michael got a bit annoyed from that, "I'm a he."

The four ponies all sat there and listened to him, still shaken from his outburst.

"OK. Now that I have your attention. I'm not some random creature that lived in the forest over there. I'm a human. You see, I tried to explain that to your purple friend over here, but she thought I was joking. That's why she was laughing uncontrollably."

The ponies nodded in agreement, still eager to hear more.

"Second, I was trying to sneak away from the two of you," he pointed at Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, "NOT, try to do some random sneak attack kind of thing. That's not me. I don't attack unless there's reason."

The ponies stared at the ground a few moments, shameful of their mistake. Twilight spoke up.

"But can you prove you're human? To the best of my knowledge, humans are extinct. Plus, all I see is some metal… thing."

"That's cause this metal shell I actually armor," Michael said, "See?"

He unlatched his helmet and lifted it off his head, revealing his face. The first three ponies seemed to be awestruck. But Twilight was marveled, trying to put together that an "extinct" being was standing right in front of her.

Michael was growing a bit worried from the awkward silence. "Um… hello?"

"Uh… W-What's your name?" the butter pegasus asked with a very soft voice.

Rainbow Dash immediately regained her confident posture, "I bet his name is something AWESOME like, Midnight Warrior or Dark Knight!"

"Actually… my name is Michael."

Rainbow Dash looked at him with a "really?" look. But Twilight looked fascinated.

"That sounds exactly like a human name, from what I've researched so far!" she said.

Once again, Michael rolled his eyes. She seemed to be the smart type around here.

The orange Earth pony stepped forward and looked up at Michael with her green eyes.

"Um… sorry Michael. We didn't mean to er, accuse you or nuthin'. We just hadn't seen anything like you and ah guess, we got carried away. By the way, the name's Applejack."

"I understand," Michael said, "And it's OK Applejack."

She grinned up at him, "Thanks fer fergivin' us! We usually don't like to fight anyway."

"Hey, no problem. I don't want to fight you guys either."

"Anyway," Rainbow Dash said as she flew over to his side, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from a different planet if that's what your asking."

Twilight jumped in, "Then how are you here?"

"I honestly don't know," Michael replied, "I was on a mission when I came in contact with some kind of forerunner artifact."

"What's a forerunner artifact?" Twilight asked.

Michael didn't feel like explaining all this to any of them, so he simply replied, "I'll tell you later once I got some time."

"Why the rush?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I want to know about some of the AWESOME adventures you probably had!"

"Sorry, I can't," Michael explained, "I'm just as curious about you guys as you guys are about me, but I need to explore this place a little. Get a feel for it, you know?"

"I get it." Twilight said, "We can take you to Ponyville, that town over there. Just so the ponies living there know that you're not evil or anything since your with us."

"I mean… you don't have to…" Michael stammered.

All four of the ponies gathered around and stared up at him.

"We want to," Twilight said.

"Well since you're putting it that way, why not?" Michael said.

"Well what are we waitin' for?" Applejack asked, "Let's go!"

Michael turned towards the path to Ponyville and stepped aside, "Lead on."

Twilight stepped in front of Michael, Applejack jumped to his right, Rainbow Dash flew to his left, and Fluttershy followed the rear.

As a group, they walked over the bridge and down the path to Ponyville.

_Nightmare Moon POV_

The Mare of the Night gazed out her window towards the Everfree forest. She was gloomy, saddened that Michael already left. He was the only friend she really had, and he had a passion for the night. But the part of him she liked the most of the human was his ability to listen. To understand the feelings of another and make that person feel… more lively. Ever since he showed up, she had less bad thoughts. She looked on the brighter side of things.

She longed for him to return. She wanted to talk to him about her feelings, because he would always respond with an open answer. He doesn't want to force her to do anything she doesn't feel comfortable doing. He just makes the atmosphere more bearable.

But that war he's been through. He's really dangerous when threatened. Hopefully Celestia doesn't threaten him. No, she knows Celestia won't threaten him. He's too kind-hearted to give off any hostile impression. Heck, maybe he could persuade Celestia to give Nightmare Moon a chance.

"_Please return Michael," _she whispered, "_Please be safe."_

**Location: Canterlot Royal Palace**

Princess Celestia was once again sitting atop her throne. She was unrolling a scroll with her magic. It was a letter from her student, Twilight Sparkle. She usually doesn't send messages until the evening, so this must be something important.

She finished unrolling the scroll and read its contents.

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_ Rainbow Dash and I have found some kind of metal creature by Fluttershy's cottage. It didn't seem like it wanted to harm us, but when we attacked it, it used some kind of anti-magic shield. It even seemed like it doesn't feel pain, except for the headache I gave it. I don't know if you know anything about the creature or not, so we're going to bring it to Ponyville. Please meet us there._

_ Your Faithful Student, _

_ Twilight Sparkle._

Celestia rolled the scroll back up and tossed it aside.

"Guards!" she shouted, "Be ready to travel to Ponyville! We have the metal creature located!"

"Yes, your majesty!"

Celestia was determined to figure out what this thing was, "Send someone to notify Princess Luna! Tell her I'll be in Ponyville for the next few hours!"

**Back at Ponyville…**

As soon as Michael came into sight, he received several uneasy stares. Actually, every single pony in the town was giving him uneasy stares. All except for a single unicorn. She had a sort of turquoise coat. She was whispering something to another pony, while both of them were looking at him. Then she began to walk up to the group. Twilight groaned.

"Well, here comes Lyra," she whispered to Michael, "Just don't talk. I'll explain later."

Michael nodded in agreement. Lyra had a smirk on her face, as if she recognized him.

"Hey, Twilight!" she shouted as she trotted over, "What is the metal thing?"

"Well it's-"

"It's a human, isn't it?" she asked, still with the smirk on her face.

Twilight hesitated a moment, "Actually it's a… a forerunner being sent from outer space!"

Lyra's smirk immediately changed into a frown, "Wha-?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, "We found it in the Everfree! Doesn't it look totally awesome?"

Lyra backed off, "Yeah… It looks pretty cool I guess. Anyway I have to go so-"

She didn't even finish before galloping down the street.

Michael spoke up, "Why couldn't you just tell her that I was human?"

Twilight looked up at him, "Lyra is OBSESSED with humans. She spends almost all her time researching them. If she ever finds out if you are human, you'll probably have a worse migraine than what I gave you a few hours ago."

"Yeah. I get it," Michael muttered.

They walked on for a few minutes before another tall tree came into view. Like the previous one by the forest, it had windows and a door.

Applejack spoke, "Here we are! Twilight's library!"

"Library-?"

"Yeah," Twilight muttered, "I hope it doesn't bother you…"

Michael was taken back, "Oh, no. I actually enjoy reading."

This brightened Twilight's mood a bit as they approached the library.

"Allow me," Michael said as he reached for the door handle.

But before he could turn it, Twilight shouted, "Princess Celestia!"

Michael turned to see the purple unicorn running towards an extremely taller alicorn. Her coat was a pure white and her mane billowed around her the same way Nightmare Moon's did. She must really be the princess then.

"Why hello, my faithful student," she said calmly as the two embraced, "And I see you have befriended the creature you told me about."

Michael didn't really care for the princess since she wouldn't forgive Nightmare Moon. It's not like the sweet alicorn really did bring an eternal night. She even wanted to be forgiven, to be loved by her subjects.

But Michael feels like there something up.

'I wonder if Celestia is feeding her people lies,' he thought, 'Perhaps she attempted to apologize, but Celestia wouldn't allow it.'

After the embrace ended, Celestia directed her attention to Michael. She slowly walked over and examined him.

"I feel like I've seen something like this thing before…" she muttered.

"Umm… actually, Princess… the creature is a… he."

Everyone turned to look at the butter colored pegasus, who backed away a few steps at the sudden attention.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, "It's not like you to correct ponies like that."

The timid pegasus stayed silent.

"How do you know it's a he?" the princess asked, looking at Fluttershy.

"Well… he uh… said it himself."

Celestia turned back to Michael, "He talks?"

"Well yeah," Twilight said, "That's what humans do. Talk."

Celestia put two and two together, realizing what Michael really was. A look of complete rage and hatred filled her eyes as her horn began to glow. She jumped back from Michael, taking the form of a fighting stance.

"Princess!" Applejack shouted, "What're you doin'?"

"Do you four know what you've done?" the princess asked, keeping her eye on Michael.

"W-What did we do?!" Twilight asked, starting to panic.

Celestia shifted her gaze to Twilight, glaring at her.

"Do you even know what humans have done in the past?! They are evil! They ruined the harmony of Equestria and I'm NOT going to let that happen again!"

"Princess! You don't understand-!"

"No, Twilight Sparkle! YOU don't understand! These humans have done nothing but evil in the past. Don't get in the way!"

This shocked Twilight. The princess has never acted this way before. This is the first time she ever snapped at Twilight. Perhaps humans were a problem in the past. But Twilight couldn't help but feel that Michael was different.

Twilight stepped back and drooped her head. She didn't want to anger the princess anymore. She just hoped that she wouldn't harm Michael.

"Human, you will pay for the crimes your ancestors committed in the past!" she shouted at Michael, who took on a defensive stance. Celestia's horn began to emanate a golden light

Michael was growing annoyed of the princess's accusations. Nightmare Moon was right. She didn't think things through. She doesn't listen. What made it worse was that she was treating him like she did Nightmare Moon. Assumptions.

Celestia's horn was absorbing light as if she was charging up something very powerful. Michael already knew what was coming. She was the princess after all; therefore she was probably the most powerful.

Michael was about to activate his hard-light shield, until he saw what was coming at him. An extremely large beam of light erupted from Celstia's horn and soared straight at him. The attack caught him off guard. She must really hate humans. Michael was too busy thinking when the beam grew closer. Realizing what was coming at him, he activated his thruster pack and launched himself to the left of the beam.

But he was too late. The beam completely missed most of his body, but drove right through his entire right arm. He cried out in pain.

His arm was burning far worse than fire. It felt like he just dipped his entire arm into a pool of lava.

'Do I dare look at my arm?' he thought to himself.

He turned his head to the right to see his armor completely seared off. His arm was burnt black. His entire right arm armor and shoulder armor was gone. It looked like it was just ripped off. And guess what? His hard-light shield deployed on that part of the armor. Now it's gone. Good thing he has an extra in the tactical hard-case on his hip.

But he didn't even have time to retrieve it as another large beam of light shot from Celestia's horn. He knew the danger of it this time and dove out of the way. Celestia snorted in anger.

"You can't win, human! You WILL fail!"

Michael didn't have time to reply as a third beam launched from her horn. He dove out of the way again.

Suddenly, Michael felt something slam into his back, causing him to stumble forward. Then something else knocked him backward. He regained his balance and looked around. There were pegasi everywhere, surrounding him on all sides. They all wore some sort of armor.

'Great,' he thought, 'I bet these are royal guards.'

The same pegasus that hit him dove toward him again. He simply ducked and grabbed his tail. The guard yelped in pain as Michael pulled him in and threw him at another pegasus. The two collided and crashed to the ground. Two more swooped in to get an easy shot, but ended up getting slammed into each other. A fifth pegasus flew circles around Michael, trying to confuse him. But Michael maintained his focus and reached out. He grabbed the shocked pegasus and slammed him into the ground.

Michael regained his composure and looked around. Five pegasi lay on the ground, writhing in pain. But Michael completely forgot about the princess, who he had his back to. She launched another, but smaller beam of light.

He turned his head to see behind him and realized the beam, but not early enough. The beam caught him in the leg and ripped through his armor, then ripped through his leg. The beam burned through the armor on the other side of his leg, resulting in a steaming hole at his hip. Michael cried out as he doubled over, unable to stand on the injured leg.

He was hopeless. There was nothing he could do. No gun and no shield. The thruster pack he could use, but it would be pointless. He didn't want to toss a pulse grenade at her, because he didn't want to be seen as a killer. That would just cause more trouble. He just laid there, holding his leg, helplessly. The princess walked toward him slowly, her horn still glowing. Once she got to him, she looked down and glared at him with an intent look.

"Human," she began, "For the crimes of-"

That was it. Screw the pain. She was really pissing him off.

He raised his hand at her, "For the LOVE of God, just shut up for a second!"

Celestia's horn immediately lost its golden glow as she jumped in shock. How dare he say such a thing to her.

"You have no right to talk to me-"

"No!" Michael shouted cutting her off, "Excuse my language, but cut the bullshit! I have been going through a pretty bad goddamn war back in my world! Now I somehow appear in this world, and God knows why I did, and you just straight up accuse me of something I had no knowledge about?! You just HAVE to assume that EVERY single human is evil?! Well you know what I have to say? Bullshit! Just cause humans in the past have done bad things, doesn't mean I will do the same! Now you can kill me right here, right now! I don't care anymore! Just remember that you killed an innocent person, and that's a crime that is completely unforgiveable!"

His words echoed through the quiet town. Every single pony was crowded around the scene, a look of complete bewilderment on all there faces. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and even Fluttershy looked extremely worried. Princess Celestia herself was staring at him in awe. They didn't know he was in a war. They didn't know what he had been through. And now, Princess Celestia herself drooped her head low, and began to cry. Michael felt bad about making the princess cry, but he knew it was the only way to get her to understand.

Her horn suddenly began to glow once again, but instead of the raging golden color, it was a gentle white. Michael's helmet was removed from his head, and Celestia stared at him directly in the eyes. She was still dropping tears as she just stared into his eyes. She saw the pain and anger he contained. But she also saw the gentle kindness he had. She then realized her wrong.

She slowly muttered, "Human… I… I don't know what to say. You are right. I cannot hold grudges from something that happened a thousand years ago. I can see the kindness in your heart and realized my mistake. I truly am sorry for all of this. I just ask for your forgiveness, and I understand if I don't… deserve… it."

Michael was speechless. He didn't know that the princess could even consider apologizing. He felt somewhat… relieved. A sensation of relief relaxed his body, as his muscles released tension.

"So can you perhaps… forgive me, for my actions?" Celestia asked.

But he was already out. He passed out as his body relaxed. He was exhausted, and his body needed rest. Celestia closed her eyes and smiled, tears staining her face. She regained her royal posture and lifted Michael's limp body off the ground with her levitation spell.

Twilight dashed over, "What are you going to do with him, Princess?"

Celestia smiled warmly, "Don't worry, Twilight. He will be just fine. And… sorry for snapping at you. I was wrong."

"Don't worry, Princess!" Twilight said, "Ponies make mistakes. I understand."

"Thank you, Twilight," Celestia replied, "I'm going to take him to the hospital in Canterlot."

She walked over to her chariot and laid the human down on his back in it. The other royal guards were loading the injured guards into other chariots as well.

"I'm actually… glad he said what he said," Celestia muttered, "I probably would have killed him in my blind rage."

Twilight looked up at her teacher, "He's lucky."

Celestia frowned, "By the way, Twilight, do you by any chance know his name?"

Twilight smiled, "His name, is Michael, Princess."


	5. Chapter 4- Bleeding Isn't the Problem

**_Chapter 4:_**

Michael had another dream. But this time it was more… peaceful. He saw the same Spartan he had seen in the other dream. He had the same armor design as Michael. Michael was mostly black, with midnight purple stripes providing a secondary color in various places. The Spartan in his dream however, was also mainly black, but instead of the purple, he had green. And instead of Michael's midnight purple visor, he had a green visor.

The Spartan was sitting on a bench in some sort of room. There were two huge red doors on the wall in front of him. He seemed to be waiting for something. A few minutes passed until Michael heard a voice behind the doors. He recognized it immediately. Princess Celestia.

"My subjects!" she shouted, "It is a great honor to recognize someone important to all of us! He has defeated many evils that emerged in this world and we are honored to have him with us today! My subjects, I tell you from my heart, there is no need to fear such an amazing human! It is a great honor to have him with us! My friends, it is a great pleasure to present to you… the HERO OF EQUESTRIA!"

As if on queue, the Spartan stood up and walked to the doors. He stood there a moment, taking a few deep breaths. Eventually he stood straight, held his head high, and pushed open the doors.

A bright light flowed through the doors, blinding the dream for a moment, until clearing. In front of the Spartan was a red carpet. It lead all the way to a stage, with none other than the princess herself. She was smiling warmly at the Spartan, motioning him to walk towards her. On each side, there were hundreds of ponies cheering happily. They weren't afraid of him.

The Spartan stepped onto the carpet and slowly walked toward the princess. The ponies kept cheering and cheering for the Spartan. Michael couldn't help but wonder what he had done for them.

Before he could get his answer, the dream fogged up and dissolved, and Michael woke up on a hospital bed.

Michael groaned. Whenever he is about to find out something important the dream ends.

He sat up in the small hospital bed. He realized there were two put together to prop his legs up. His right arm was completely wrapped in bandages, stained red. He swung his legs to the side of the bed and hopped off. Upon landing on them, he cried out in pain as he remembered the hole in his left thigh. He glanced down and saw another bloody bandage rapped around it. He tested the weight on the leg, and concluded that he could walk on it lightly.

Michael realized something was missing. He couldn't put a finger on it. He felt… naked. That's when he noticed his armor was gone. All he was wearing was the suit under the armor. He didn't care much, it's just that he felt more vulnerable.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a white pony trotted in pushing a medical tray. She had a light pink mane and tail and wore a hat with a red cross on it. She gasped as she saw Michael standing by the bed.

Michael turned to see her, "Oh… uh… hi?"

The pony grinned sheepishly, "Hi… I'm Nurse Redheart! I've been taking care of you for the past few days."

Michael looked puzzled, "Wait… a few days? I was out for a few days?"

"Yep," the nurse replied, "And you shouldn't be standing on that leg. You could start the bleeding again."

"It's alright, I'll be fine. Anyway, my name's Michael."

"Nice to finally meet you, Michael," she replied, no longer shy, "The princess was going to come talk to you when you finally awoke."

"I can go talk to her now, if that's alright."

"I suppose so… just don't put too much weight on the leg."

"You got it, Miss Redheart."

"OK," she said, "I'll leave you alone now. Nice meeting you!" At that, she left and shut the door.

Michael glanced around the room. It was a simple design; white walls, wood floor, and a single window. He limped over to the window and took a look around. Much to his surprise, he wasn't in any simple hospital. He was in a tower, which was connected to an entire castle. Below him was a city, the streets busy with ponies minding their business. There was a beautiful garden down in front of the castle. Guards marched here and there, giving the castle a secure feeling.

Michael decided he should try and find the princess. The first place to look would be the throne room. But where was that at? Hopefully he would just get lucky and stumble upon it. He slowly made his way to the door to the door and pushed it open. He peered out into the hallway. Various guards were standing around, conversing. They noticed him right away, but didn't seem to mind him. The princess probably already informed them.

Michael didn't feel like searching the giant castle for the throne room, so he walked over to the nearest guard to ask.

"Excuse me," he said, "Can you tell me where the throne room is?"

The guard turned around and gazed up at him, suddenly trembling, "I-It's… that way." He pointed down the hall with his hoof, "Once you get to the end, make a left, and then a right. Alright, bye!"

The guard dashed down the opposite direction and disappeared.

"Uh… thanks?"

Michael turned and limped down the hall in the direction the guard pointed. He made the left, and then the right. And right around the corner was a set of two tall red doors. He got some pretty weird looks from the other guards on the way there, but he shrugged it off.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the doors.

Inside was a red carpet leading to a throne with none other than Celestia herself sitting on it. The throne was made of gold, with the red carpet leading up a golden ramp to the seat. To the right of Celestia, there was a smaller alicorn. She reminded Michael of Nightmare Moon with her dark blue coat and flowing night sky mane.

Celestia immediately noticed him and smiled warmly, "Someone's finally awake."

The smaller alicorn, on the other hand, looked shocked as she noticed Michael. Celestia looked at her nervously as if something were about to happen.

"S-Sister," the alicorn spoke, "Y-You didn't say… that… that the injured pony… was human."

Celestia calmly spoke, "Now now, Luna. Let's take a deep breath before-"

"Sister," the alicorn cut her off, "Why did you let this human… survive?"

Celestia seemed like she was about to break down, "Luna, he's different. He isn't like the humans in the past. Not like the ones who-"

"Don't say it!" the alicorn shouted, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "You should've killed him!"

Celestia was about to cry as well, "Luna! Stop it! We cannot hold grudges from things that happened in the past! Even… even if they did… what they did."

Michael was puzzled. What did the humans do in the past that's upsetting the other alicorn? Michael began to feel guilty, as if he shouldn't be there right now.

"I don't think I should be here." He said, "Sorry for… disturbing you, Princess."

She said nothing as she embraced her sister. Both were crying softly in each other's embrace. Something happened to them personally. And it was the humans' fault. He knew it.

He rushed out of the room, ignoring the pain in his leg. He dashed down the halls back to his hospital room and shut the door behind him. Leaning his back against the door, he slowly slid down to a sitting position, slowly panting. He was sweating, not because of exhaustion, but from worry of the princess. He felt guilt of barging into the throne room like that. He should've waited for Celestia to come to him.

Michael looked down at his leg. The wound had reopened and now a puddle of blood was on the floor surrounding his leg. He didn't care. For some reason, seeing the two alicorns crying like that depressed him. And he was a Spartan. He was trained not to have feeling like this. So what is triggering his emotions?

Ignoring the intense pain in his leg, he stood up and walked to the window. It wasn't too far up, so landing wouldn't be a problem. For any regular human, it would be death.

He pushed open the window and stuck his head out. Below him was a busy street littered with shopping stalls and various stores. Ponies were pondering here and there, conversing with the store manager while examining merchandise.

Suddenly there was a knock at his door, with someone asking, "Michael? Are you in there?"

It was Celestia. Michael didn't want to talk. Not after what just happened.

She suddenly gasped, "I-Is that…blood?!"

His blood had trailed underneath the door and was probably in the hallway. Celestia started hammering the door. "Michael! Open the door! You could bleed to death!"

Michael wasn't worried about bleeding to death. He turned back to the window. Without thinking, he dove out. As soon as he left the room, the door busted open. Celestia rushed in, her eyes darting around. Michael turned his head and looked at her straight in the eyes. They widened in horror.

"Michael!" she shouted, fearing for his life. She rushed to the window. Michael was diving headfirst towards the ground. She thought he was a goner. But he turned feet first towards the ground and landed on the street, creating a small crater in the ground. He grunted in pain due to his leg, but stood up and dashed down the street towards the train station.

Celestia stared at him in awe. Did he just survive that jump? Apparently.

Celestia rushed back out into the hallway, "Royal guard! Pursue the human! He may die if we lose him!"

_Michael POV_

Michael was running down the streets of Canterlot, trying to find a way out of the city. He couldn't face the princess right now. Not yet. The humans did something to her, and he needs to find out before seeing her again.

He figured out the name of the city not too long ago. He passed a line of stores named, "Canterlot Bakery, Canterlot Donuts, Canterlot Toy Store, Canterlot Spa, Canterlot Fashion and Design." It gave him the feeling the city was named Canterlot for some reason.

The pain in his leg was intense. He was aware that he was leaving a trail of red everywhere he ran. But he just wanted to get out of there.

He looked behind him to see a bunch of pegasi guards flying after him. They were fast, but he was faster. Ahead of him was a train station. And at the boarding area was a train just starting to pull off.

He picked up speed, determined to catch the train. His leg was burning now. But he knew that if he slowed down, the pegasi would catch up to him.

All around him were various ponies staring at him in fear. He hated being feared. It reminded him of terrible days on Earth, where civilians feared him.

He was at the boarding area now. The train was at a moderate speed, constantly accelerating. If he was fast enough, he could barely make the last train car.

He picked up even more speed. He was as fast as he could go without his armor now. He sped by the toll box in a blur, completely ignoring the pony's shouts to pay the fee. The train was even faster now. He could see the last car. It was too fast.

'I'm not gonna make it,' he thought.

But he didn't stop. At the edge of the platform, he launched himself toward the train car with all his strength. He was flying through the air, his left arm outstretched. He grabbed the ladder on the back. He was good.

Michael looked back at the pegasi. They stopped and flew back towards the castle. He climbed back up to the top of the train, taking a few deep breaths to regain his energy. He stood there at the top of the train, staring back at the castle.

'I'll return, Celestia,' he thought, 'I just need to visit someone first.'

Michael looked away and laid down on top the train. His leg created another pool of blood. He felt his heartbeat slow as he finally relaxed. He stared into the warm sun. Though he enjoyed the night, the day wasn't all that bad. He forgot what it felt like with his armor on most of the time. He just stayed there… and slowly close his eyes.

_Rainbow Dash POV_

It was the perfect day for a quick flight to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash hadn't flown her daily flight because of Michael's appearance. And since she hadn't flown much yesterday, today she will fly to Canterlot.

There she stood, on a perfectly flat cloud, just the right size for taking off. Below her was Ponyville. Her friends were all busy with something; Twilight was studying humans to learn about Michael, Applejack was harvesting apples as usual, Fluttershy was tending to her animals, Rarity was designing some super special dress, and Pinkie Pie was setting up a party for Michael. That's what got her the most. Pinkie didn't even know Michael. Yet she sets up a party just because.

She shook her head. She needed a calm mind for taking off. Staring up at the sky, she opened her wings and stretched. Hearing a series of satisfying pops, she retracted her wings. She backed up to the edge of the cloud and stood straight.

"Time for the best flyer in Equestria to take flight," she muttered.

At that, Rainbow Dash 'dashed' towards the other side of the cloud. She admired her steadiness before reaching the edge. Then she dove off.

Down and down she dove, headfirst towards the center of Ponyville. She closed her eyes and let herself relax a bit. It always felt good to start off like this. The air flowing through her mane, the free feeling. She opened her eyes right before she hit the ground and extended her wings, launching her self parallel to the ground at a blistering speed.

"Wooooooo-hooooooooo!" she shouted as she soared past the various buildings. She angled her wings and pushed upward, sending herself up into the clear skies.

She finally steadied about two hundred feet off the ground, flapping her wings every now and then to maintain her momentum. She wasn't going too fast, but fast enough to see Canterlot getting closer and closer by the second.

Rainbow Dash breathed in the fresh air of the beautiful morning. The temperature was cool, the flowers below glistened in the sunlight, and the train was on its way back to Ponyville. She took a closer look at the train. There was something on the last train car. It looked like a human. But it couldn't be Michael. Michael wears armor.

She turned off course and rushed to the human being lying on top the train car. As she grew closer she recognized the face. It was Michael. And there was a HUGE blood puddle surrounding his leg.

"Oh man." Rainbow Dash said as she started to panic, "OhmanOhmanOhmanOhman."

She flew even faster toward him. Even though she didn't really know him, he seemed somewhat special to her.

She slammed her hooves down on the train car and rushed to him. Her hooves hammered the top of the car, getting everypony's attention inside.

When Rainbow Dash got to Michael, she started to shake him violently.

"Michael?!" she asked loudly, "Michael, wake up!"

Michael didn't move.

"Come on, dude! Get up! Don't give up on me!"

Michael suddenly jerked for a moment, before cracking open his eyes. "Wha-?"

Rainbow Dash gasped, "You're alive!"

She embraced him tightly, resulting in a puzzled expression on the Spartan's face.

"OK, Rainbow," he said, "We know each other for less than a day and you're acting like I'm the most important person in the world."

"But I thought you were… d-dead!" she shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

She pointed frustratingly at the huge puddle of red, "Because of THAT!"

Michael raised his eyebrows, "Wow. I lost a lot didn't I?"

"Aren't you… ya know… worried for yourself?"

"Nah, that's only half of what I need to lose to even start feeling weak."

Rainbow Dash was silent.

"Uh… Rainbow Dash." Michael muttered, "You can let go now."

"Oh, right!" she sputtered before moving back.

"Much better," Michael chuckled, "By the way, what brings you here?"  
"Well… I was just on my daily flight to Canterlot till I saw you on the train bleeding. So I flew over cause I though you were dying or something."

"Well that explains it I guess."

"And why are YOU on top a TRAIN, SLEEPING while BLEEDING to death!? Shouldn't you be in Canterlot right now?"  
"Well I WAS in Canterlot, but…"

Rainbow Dash stared at him, eager to know, "But what?"

"Your princess… well I… ugh, hold on," Michael stuttered as he flashed his mind back to where it started.

Michael continued, "I woke up in the hospital bed, or beds, this morning. Nurse uh… Red… Redheart! Yeah that's right! Anyway she came in and we talked a bit before she told me Princess Celestia was going to come see me when I awoke. I slept for about four days."

Rainbow Dash gasped, "Four DAYS?!"

"Yeah, I tend to sleep for a long period of time."

"So what happened next?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Did you bail on her or something?"

"Not exactly," Michael replied, "I decided to go see her instead, to save her the walk. When I made it there, she was on her throne with another alicorn. She had a dark blue coat and another flowing mane."

Rainbow Dash interrupted, "That's her sister, Princess Luna."

Michael suddenly remembered what Nightmare Moon said about being one with Luna. That's why they looked similar. But why was she upset with humans? Nightmare Moon was definitely the one to ask on this one.

"Umm… Michael? You're kinda in space right about now." Rainbow Dash was trying to get his attention.

"Wha-? Oh, right. Anyway, Celestia was happy to see me. But Princess Luna wasn't so happy. She started talking about why… why Celestia didn't just… kill me."

"What?" Rainbow Dash gasped, "That sounds NOTHING like her!"

"That's what struck me. It kinda… hurt to hear those words. Then she started crying. But why? Rainbow Dash, do you know anything about humans in the past?"

"Not really," she replied, "The pony to ask would be one of the princesses or maybe Twilight."

"Darn it. I was hoping you would know. Well, what happened next was that Celestia also broke down in tears and started hugging her sister. It just left me wondering what the humans done to them to trigger such anger. It also left me feeling guilty. Guilty that I didn't just wait for Celestia herself. Guilty that I jumped out the window and ran to the train station, while bleeding. And now… here I am."

Rainbow Dash stared at him in awe, "This makes me curious too. What did the humans of the past do? I heard they were jerks! No offense though."

"None taken. Well when we get to the town by that forest, I'm getting off."

"Are you going to see Twilight or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Michael looked at her, a serious look in his eyes, "No. I'm going back into that forest."

Rainbow Dash jumped up, "Michael! Are you totally NUTS from blood loss or something? You'll get yourself killed in there!"

"No, I'm not nuts!" he shouted, causing Rainbow Dash to jump back in fear, "Sorry, OK? But I know someone who lives there who can give me the answers I want."

Rainbow Dash recovered, "But Michael, I… I'm worried that you won't come back."

Michael was taken back, "Rainbow Dash? Like I said, you barely know me, and yet you act like you've known me forever."

"I… I don't know," Rainbow Dash muttered, "Maybe cause you're a cool guy. And you got guts. But then you're understanding. I like that."

"I understand," Michael replied, "But I really need to go there."  
"Who are you going to see?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Michael was about to answer when he remembered what Nightmare Moon said. She did something that no one likes her for.

"She uh… She doesn't want anyone knowing where she is…" he said.

"Umm… OK…" Rainbow Dash said slowly. She decided to just follow him throughout the forest without being seen.

"And don't follow me," Michael said, "Like you said, it's dangerous."

"No problem!" Rainbow Dash said, a little bit too enthusiastically, "I will not follow you! I promise!"

"Good," Michael said, "Well, looks like we're here."

The train slowed to a stop at the train station. Various ponies poured out trying to figure out what the racket on top the train was. When they saw Michael, they scattered in fear.

"I don't like that feeling," Michael mumbled.

"What feeling?" Rainbow Dash asked, as if she did something wrong.

Michael noticed her look, "Don't worry, Rainbow. It's not you. I just hate being feared. Back in my world, people feared me because I was in armor. And now I'm being feared because no one knows what I am."

Rainbow Dash nudged him, "Don't go soft on me now. You know you still got me on your side. Weren't you a soldier anyway?"

"I guess you can say that."

"You're a pretty sad soldier, I'll give ya that," Rainbow Dash teased.

Michael chuckled, "Thanks a lot."

Rainbow Dash looked back at the even larger blood puddle, "Don't you wanna get that checked out?"

"Yeah, I should," Michael replied, "I'm starting to feel light-headed."

He hopped off the top of the train car and waited for Rainbow Dash, who flew along side him.

"Do you want to head to the hospital?" she asked.

"Nah," Michael replied, "Just need some bandages and rest. Just to stop the bleeding."

"I think Twilight has some bandages."

"Then let's head there. But where does she live?" Michael asked.

"Don't you remember?" Rainbow Dash relplied, "The big tree library!"

"Oh right. Except I don't remember where that is."

"It's alright, I have you covered!" Rainbow Dash saluted him. "Follow me!"

She flew in front of him, leading the way. The next few minutes they walked in silence, Rainbow Dash waving to the frightened ponies. All except one.

Rainbow Dash groaned, "Aw man here she comes!"

"Who?" Michael asked.

"See that turquoise colored pony trotting over here?"

"Oh right! Her name was… Lyra right?"

"Yeah. And I hope you remember she's obsessed with humans."

"Oh yeah I remember."

Lyra approached them, a big grin on her face. She threw her forelegs around Michael's legs immediately.

"I knew it!" she said, "I knew humans existed! Everyone told me they were all just some old legend or tale or something. But I knew the truth! They do exist!"

"Ummm… Hi?" Michael slowly said.

Lyra stayed clasped onto his leg. Luckily it wasn't the injured one. Michael decided to just walk with her on his leg. He took a step forward to test her weight, and figured out she was extremely light to him. Then he continued walking passed Rainbow Dash, receiving an amused expression from her.

They continued walking until they came to SugarCube Corner. Rainbow Dash was sure she saw Pinkie look through the top floor of the bakery window.

"What's the place with the cupcake on top?" Michael asked.

"That's SugarCube Corner, a bakery pretty much," Rainbow Dash replied, scanning the area for Pinkie.

They walked past the building, surprisingly without any disturbance from a certain pink pony.

"Phew!" Rainbow Dash sighed, "I thought she would pop up out of no where."

"Who?" Michael asked.

"This friend of mine name Pinkie Pie. She can do a bunch of weird stuff. I don't understand how, but she just does it."

"What does she do that's so… weird?"

"Well for one," Rainbow Dash replied, "She has a weird way of some kind of teleportation."

"Well unicorns can teleport, right? With magic or something?"

"That's the thing, she's not a unicorn. She's an earth pony."

Michael wasn't really surprised, since he didn't know much about Equestria.

"Oh, ok."

They approached the tree library. Rainbow Dash flew up to the door and hammered on it. Twilight better be home.

"Twilight!" she shouted while banging on the door, "Open up! We got a small emergency!"

They heard some rummaging inside, "Hold on!"

"We can't hold on, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"I'm not ready!" she shouted.

Michael stepped up, "Hold on," he said, "Sorry, Twilight! But I'm feeling really dizzy!"

Rainbow Dash stepped back in awe as Michael kicked the door, sending splinters scattering on the inside.

"Sweet," she muttered.

Michael stumbled in and collapsed on the floor. Rainbow Dash rushed to his side, but soon realized why Twilight wouldn't open the door.

The floor was littered with books. The shelves were all unorganized and messy. Twilight sat there, staring at them in shock. Her mane and tail were completely messed up, parts of it sticking out and broken. How long had she been up? Before anything happened, Twilight levitated Lyra off Michael's leg and placed her outside, where she sat there, still shocked that humans exist.

"Uh… Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, stepping over a book that read "Human Legends in Equestria."

"Yes… R-Rainbow?" she replied shaken by the sudden break-in.

"What have you been doing?"

"J-Just studying… H-humans."

Rainbow Dash groaned, "This isn't necessary, Twilight!"

Twilight grew a bit annoyed, "We need to learn as much as we can about Michael!"

"Then why not TALK to him?" she said, pointing a hoof at Michael.

Michael rolled over on his back, "Umm… can you guys quit the arguing and get me some bandages before I BLEED to death?"

Both ponies calmed down and looked at him.

"Rainbow," Twilight said, "I have some bandages up stairs in the cabinet. Can you go get them please?"

"Yeah. You'll be alright, Michael!" she said as she flew upstairs.

Twilight returned her attention to Michael, "Sorry about all this. Let me get cleaned up first, then we can talk."

"Aren't you gonna freak out because I'm bleeding all over the place?"

"No, I know you'll be fine. Now give me a minute, I'll be right back."

She turned and trotted down a staircase at the back of the room. Rainbow Dash appeared at the top of the stairway with a roll of gauze in her mouth. She jumped off the top and hovered down beside Michael. He grabbed the roll from her mouth and unrolled a large amount to wrap around his leg.

"Doesn't that… hurt?" she asked, wincing at how tightly he was wrapping it.

"Yeah." He said.

"Aaaand… you don't care?"

"Nope."

"Okay… Where'd Twilight go?"

"Down the stairs over there. She said she wanted to clean up."

"Alright, I'll be right back. Don't do anything stupid, OK? Don't want that thing bleeding again."

"Gotcha."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and trotted down the stairs, leaving Michael by himself.

Rainbow Dash smirked as she descended down the stairs.

'I like him,' she thought.

**_Meanwhile, in the Everfree Forest…_**

_Chimera POV_

It was only noon in the Everfree forest. The Royal Guard had been searching for Discord for the past few days. They weren't having any luck though. Even in daylight, the forest was dark. The chimera, known as Discord, was easily hidden in the dense jungle of plant life.

Discord would always have a laugh whenever the Royal Guard completely missed him. Some of them looked straight at him, but still didn't see him. Celestia needed better guards.

But now he was approaching the Everfree Ruins, to talk to a certain pony who shouldn't exist right now. He wanted to talk.

He crossed the bridge that lead to the castle and snuck through the door.

"Nightmare dearie," he said in a taunting way, "I want to talk."

Nightmare Moon's silhouette lingered by the window.

"And why are YOU here, Discord?" she asked.

"Oh no need to be all cautious I won't pull anything!" Discord said very sarcastically.

Nightmare Moon stepped into the light, "Then what do you want?"

Discord chuckled, "Well, Nightmare dearie, I want to know why you spared that human?"

"That's a simple question. And I have a simple answer. He was the first to actually… like me instead of running in fear. He's different from the humans in the past and you know it."

"Oh yes, I agree. But what do you have up your sleeve this time, Nightmare?" Discord asked, narrowing his eyes at her with a sly smile."

She replied quickly, "Nothing, Discord. I don't want to commit to any evil anymore. So you can forget thinking I'm tricking the sweet human."

Discord walked over to the window, "Whatever you say, dearie. Anyway I must be going. I have things to do. Things to plan."

Nightmare Moon smirked, "Sounds like _you_ have something planned, Discord."  
"But of course!" he said as he jumped out the window. But then he poked his head back inside, "But remember, Nightmare. I'm watching."

And at that, he disappeared back into the forest.

_Does Nightmare Moon really have something planned? Or has she REALLY changed?_


	6. Chapter 5: Darkness Returns

**_Chapter 5: _**Darkness Rises

**_Location: _**_Unknown_

The king was sitting on his makeshift throne, alone. No one was with him. No family, no friends, no slaves, no anything. Well, let's rephrase that. The **ex**-king was sitting atop his makeshift throne.

The ex-king was known as Sombra. He once ruled over the Crystal Empire. By force of course. No one wanted him. So he just bent things to his liking.

Anyway, Sombra was pretty much a tyrant. He abused his power and his ponies. Celestia didn't like that.

"It's all about _love _and _friendship!"_ he mocked her.

She defeated him once and united the Crystal Empire. Then he returned, only to be defeated by the Mane Six. And now, here he was, alone with no one to share his company.

Celestia angered him. She always beat him. She always had the upper hand. But this time he did.

Someone had filled him with dark energy, giving him the power to create anything he wanted. And now was the time to begin.

Sombra rose from his throne and walked across the dark room. The moon light creeped through the cracks in the walls, allowing only Sombra's glowing eyes to be seen in the darkness. But then his horn too glowed, illuminating the room a bit. The glow from his horn was dark and bubbly, giving the impression of evil.

Using the power given to him, he scattered dark spheres around the room. The room was dim with little light emanating from the spheres. The spheres all planted themselves into the stone ground and sunk in, creating a black puddle of darkness in various places.

Suddenly the room was lit up as the puddles flashed, and a black fume rose from each one. The fumes swirled around the room, surrounding Sombra. Then they settled down and each swirled in their own spots. They seemed to be building something.

And they were. The black smoke surrounded what seemed to be a pony, one in each puddle of darkness. When the fumes cleared, multiple ponies were in their place. Each one was pitch black, some unicorns, some pegasi, and some earth ponies. Their manes and tails billowed like a dark gas lingering in the air around them. Sombra grinned sinisterly.

"Yes," he muttered, "Celestia will surely fall now. She can't stop an army of darkness! What can she **possibly **do to defend against this new type of power! Not even the Mane Six could stop me!"

He laughed in triumph as he expressed his excitement. He continued to launch the dark spheres everywhere, creating more and more dark ponies.

"Hmm…" he muttered, "It will take time to create a large army. But when we do, I'll be unstoppable. I'll start with Ponyville, and then we will push our way up the mountain towards Canterlot. But I won't stop there. I'll seize Canterlot, and then I will attack that wretched Crystal Empire. I will take my rightful place on the throne of the Crystal ponies, showing them that they shouldn't have hated me."

Sombra continued to make the ponies as he planned his strategy.

_'I mean, come on,'_ he thought, _'No one can stop me, right?'_

**Ponyville**

Twilight couldn't believe what Rainbow Dash just told her. Why would Princess Luna want Michael… _dead?_ She spent Nightmare Night with the princess, and she seemed absolutely nothing like that. She was just as kind-hearted as Princess Celestia.

Twilight pushed the thoughts aside. She had to speak to Michael. She wanted to see his point of view.

"Rainbow Dash," she said, "Go tell Michael I'll be out in a minute. I have to message Celestia."

"You got it, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew back up the basement stairs.

"Spike!" Twilight shouted, "Come down here! We have a letter to write!"

Down the steps came the small purple dragon, rubbing his eyes while yawning.

"Already, Twilight?" he asked, "It's only noon!"

"Well we have to let her know that Michael is safe and sound," she replied.

"Who's Michael?" Spike asked, yawning once more.

"You didn't see him on the way down here?" Twilight asked, "He was sitting right by the door."

"Is he another new pony or something?"

"He's a human, Spike."

Surprisingly, Spike didn't react, "I'm not surprised. Too many weird things have been happening lately in Equestria."

"Anyway," Twilight sighed, "Grab a pen and paper."

Spike obeyed and trudged sleepily towards a drawer and retrieved the pen and paper, "I'm ready when you are."

"Alright," Twilight began, "Er-em, Dear Princess Celestia, Just this morning, Michael stumbled into my library, along with Rainbow Dash. He was bleeding terribly from his leg, but he's fine now. So if you're worried about him, there is no need to. He's safe with us. And he specifically requested that you stay in Canterlot. He said he will come to you when the time is right. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Alright, hold on let me send it," Spike said as he rolled up the paper. Noticing there was no window in the basement, he walked back upstairs to find one. Twilight followed behind.

As she reached the top step, she realized Rainbow was chasing Michael around the room, while laughing.

"Rainbow! What's going on?" Twilight shouted.

Rainbow stopped and looked at her with an amused, but intent gaze, "Michael found the newest book in the Daring Do series and won't let me read it!"

Twilight laughed, "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. It came in yesterday morning."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she returned her attention to Michael, who began reading the book.

"It's not that bad, actually," he said, "Whoever wrote this can definitely write well."

Rainbow Dash groaned, "Alright alright. You can read it. Just give it to me when you're finished."

Michael tossed the book to the airborne pegasus, who caught it with her hooves.

"Actually, I don't really have much time to read anyway," he said before looking at Twilight, "Twilight, when will my leg get better?"

"You'll be up and at it in about a week," she replied, "but since you're some super human, it may be faster."

"That's a relief," he said, "Do you have any like, encyclopedias about this world by any chance?"

"Well it is a library, so of course." She trotted up the staircase in the corner of the room, leaving Michael with Rainbow Dash. She was already reading Daring Do.

"Hey, Rainbow," Michael asked, "Could you show me around the town?"

Rainbow Dash wasn't paying attention. It was all directed towards the book.

"I guess I'll show myself around," Michael muttered as he stood up, "As long as I don't run or anything I should be fine."

He ducked under the broken door and then looked back at it, "I think I'll fix this sometime too."

Then all of a sudden, Michael heard a deep woman's voice echo inside his head, "Hmm… what do we have here? A human? So the legends are true…"

As the voice trailed off, a headache followed. Michael bent down to one knee while holding his head. The voice was too deep to be Nightmare Moon. And he doesn't think she'd leave him a headache. Soon it wore off and Michael scanned the area. Nothing appeared out of place, except him of course. And now Lyra was trotting towards him.

Michael waved, "Hey, Lyra!"

Lyra suppressed a giggle as she approached the human. Did he just talk to her?

"Hey… uh…. Human!" she replied when she got to him.

"Call me Michael."  
"You got it, human!"

Michael chuckled before asking, "I was wondering if you could show me around the town."

"Really?!" she asked, "Me show you around? I'd be happy to!"

Michael rolled his eyes while grinning, "Well what are we waiting for?"

Lyra nodded in excitement before motioning him to follow.

They walked past a clock tower before arriving back at Sugarcube Corner. Standing outside was a pink earth pony, her mane and tail seemed to be inflated. As soon as she saw Michael, she jumped up and down excitingly before darting inside.

"That's Pinkie Pie, right?" he asked Lyra.

"Yep," she replied, "What? Is she too hyper for you?"

"No it's just, she kinda creeps me out."

"I understand that feeling. But that's just Pinkie Pie."

"Does she work at the bakery or something?"

"She doesn't just work there. She lives there too. On the second floor. That's where we have most of our parties. I'm pretty sure you will be there soon too, since she's acting so happy when she sees you. The balloons on her flank don't lie."

That reminded Michael of one big question he had.

"What are those symbols anyway?" he asked while gazing at Lyra's symbol, which depicted a harp.

"No one has told you yet?" she asked surprised, "Well they're called cutie marks. It shows a pony's talent. Like what they're good at."

"So I guess you're a really good harp player?" he asked.

"You bet," she replied.

The next few minutes they walked on in silence. Michael would gaze down at Lyra every now and then to see her attempt to walk on her hind legs, which she failed at.

Along the way, the two passed multiple ponies who stared at Michael cautiously instead of running in fear. Maybe they were growing used to his presence.

Eventually they made it to a river overlooking a bridge. The river was quite shallow, which seemed to go only beneath Michael's knees. All sorts of fish were swimming around in the clear water. They barely reacted to the unfamiliar human, which they seemed to not be scared of.

As they crossed the bridge, any ponies in their way made space to let them pass. Lyra looked up at Michael.

"You're a lot taller than I thought humans would be," she said.

"I am a lot taller than normal humans," Michael replied, "You see, I'm a super soldier. But…"

Lyra stared at him in confusion. Why did he stop?

"Um… Why'd you stop?" she asked.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you another time."

Once over the bridge, they approached a stylish looking building. It was mostly pink, with a carousel and two horses on top.

"What's this place?" Michael asked.

"This is Carousel Boutique," she replied, "One of Twilight's friends named Rarity lives here. It's not just a house though. It's also a fashion place. Rarity likes to design different dresses and suits for ponies everywhere. I bet she'd love the challenge of designing clothes for a human."

"Is that her at the door?" Michael asked while pointing at a unicorn. She had a magnificent white coat and her purple mane and tail were curled stylishly at the ends. She seemed to take great pride in her looks.

"Yeah that's her. I think Twilight already told her about you, since she's coming over here right now."

Sure enough, the white unicorn was trotting her way towards the two. She seemed to be examining Michael. Once she approached, she smiled warmly.

"You must be the human my friend Twilight told me about," Rarity said with a refined accent, "I must say you are quite the tall one aren't you?"

"You're Rarity right?" Michael asked, "My friend Lyra here told me about you."

"Indeed," she replied, "Though I must say you need a change of clothes! You should come inside and let me design something for you! I'd love the challenge!"

Michael thought about it for a second before shrugging his shoulders, "Why not?"

Rarity jumped with excitement, "This will be absolutely exciting!"

Lyra rolled her eyes, "I'll see you later, Michael. My friend BonBon wanted me to meet her at the park for a picnic. Nice finally getting to properly meet you!"

Michael waved goodbye before following Rarity inside. Once he ducked under the door, he marveled the interior. The place was well kept. The floor was lavender, matching the walls. Multiple pink curtains hung around for dressing rooms. Multiple mannequins were placed around showing off various dresses and suits. Michael began to feel like he was in some girl's dream world. But still, Rarity designed some pretty good dresses for ponies.

Rarity turned to look at him, "I see you like the place a bit."

"I'm admiring your work. You do a good job."

"Why thank you, darling. I do try my best."

Michael struggled before asking, "So you're not scared of me or anything?"

"Of course not! Well I will admit I was at the beginning. When I saw you fighting the princess, I thought you were evil. But when I heard your words of being in a war, it completely changed the way I saw you."

"That's not even half of it," Michael replied.

"Oh don't worry, darling. I think I'll find out soon enough."

Rarity's horn began to glow as she approached Michael.

Michael threw his hands up, "Woah woah woah. Are you about to do that mind reading thing?"

"Yes, why not?" she asked, puzzled.

"Well some other person- I mean pony, read my mind and broke down in tears from what she saw."

"Don't worry, dear," she said with a smile, "I promise I won't break down."

"OK," Michael said cautiously, "But I warned you."

Rarity nodded before standing up and leaning against Michael's chest to support her. Then she touched his forehead with her horn. Michael's eye color changed to a light blue glow as his mind was subject to Rarity's magic.

Rarity saw everything. The war, the violence, Michael's lost friends, Michael in combat, and his kidnapping as a child. She didn't cry though. She controlled herself well. Though the images did bring a depressed look on her face. Equestria was free of war. Violence like this has never happened. Yet Rarity took it well.

She pushed herself off of Michael and stood back on her four hooves. Michael on the other hand stumbled back, as his eyes returned to their cyan color. Once he recovered, he looked at Rarity and was relieved that she wasn't crying.

"You alright, Rarity?" he asked.

She was silent for a moment before answering, "I'm fine, Michael. It's just… I've never seen such violence. It truly was terrible. But I saw something else…"

"Like what?"

"I think I saw somepony evil…"

Michael's heart sunk. He forgot that his memories of Nightmare Moon was there. And she saw it.

"W-Who did you see?" he asked.

"Somepony named Nightmare Moon," she replied, "Michael, darling, did you by any chance see any kind of dark looking pony?"

"I don't recall," he lied, "Have you seen her?"

"Yes," she replied.

He knew what to say now, "Did you completely perfect the mind reading spell?"

"Now that you mention it, I've only used the spell a few times," she said while calming down.

"Then maybe you saw some of your memories there," he said.

"You could just be right," she said, "My apologies."

Michael's heart beat slowed, "It's alright. You just confused me there for a moment."

Rarity returned to her desk and rummaged through it, levitating things around.

"Michael, darling," she said.

"Yes?" Michael asked. Rarity's tone seemed more serious.

"When I saw those memories, I noticed how dangerous you are," she muttered, "But I saw that you only fight for yourself or your friends. I saw your kindness. And I conclude that you're safe to be around. I trust you."

Once again, Michael was taken back on how someone he just met felt so close to him, "Thanks, Rarity. It means a lot."

Rarity regained her posture, "Of course, darling. Anyways, you may go now. I don't want to keep you any longer."

"Didn't you want to design clothing for me?" Michael asked.

"Not really," she replied, "I made that up so that I may have a private chat with you. I wanted to learn more about you, that is all."

She embraced him gently, resulting in a puzzled look from Michael. Normally he would've blushed, but he doesn't anymore. His military mind made him mentally tough.

"Uh… Rarity?"

"What? You don't get hugs much?"

"Not really…"

"Well you better get used to it, darling. You get a lot of these on this world."

She let go and walked over to one of the mannequins. It displayed a beautifully made dress that was mainly white and had gold threads embedded in different places. The gold threads were placed perfectly, giving the dress a shining look.

"This is my favorite dress," Rarity said, "I made it a couple years ago for a young mare in Canterlot that was about to get married."

"Why didn't she get it?" Michael asked, frowning.

Rarity frowned too, "The stallion she would marry was kidnapped by changelings."

"That's terrible," Michael said, "What are changelings anyway?"

"There are just the worst POSSIBLE thing!" she shouted, "They are gruesome! They bare holes all over their bodies! And their queen! Queen Chrysalis! She tried to ruin Princess Cadence's wedding in Canterlot!"

"Sounds bad," Michael said, not reacting much since he hadn't seen a changeling.

"Well you can go now, darling," Rarity said, suddenly calm, "I'm sure you have things to do."

"Sure do," Michael said as he headed towards the door, "Nice meeting you, Rarity."

"Goodbye, James! Please do visit! Remember, if you need some clothing, you know where to find me!"

With a wave goodbye, Michael ducked under the door and headed out.

He didn't think there was much of anything else to explore, so he decided to head back to the library.

Michael decided to relax on the bridge for a while to unwind. But most importantly, to think. He walked over to the center and leaned on the railing, gazing down into the clear water. The other ponies on the bridge retreated to the edges to stay clear of the human. But Michael didn't really mind anymore.

While gazing down into the deep water, Michael lost himself in his train of thought. Starting from the beginning, he tried to remember how he got here in the first place. It was weird how he completely forgot about it.

'Let's see…' he thought, 'I was… I was… driving… in the desert… I think…'

A flash back of his memories occurred, and Michael tried to remember every part of it.

He was driving a transport warthog carrying five people. One medic, one engineer marine, two defensive marines, and a scientist. They were sent by… by… Captain… Lasky of the UNSC… Infinity. They were sent to check out a forerunner structure that erupted in the middle of the desert. It was quiet, but scans showed Prometheans every now and then. Mostly crawlers.

Sitting in the passenger seat was the scientist. His name was Dr. Eric Cullin. Spartan team Crimson escorted him many times to various locations on the forerunner planet, and this time it was Michael's turn. But he was alone, the rest of his Spartan team on another mission.

Eventually the structure came into view. As if detecting their presence, an entrance rose out of the ground in front of it, guarded by two Promethean turrets. They began to charge up.

"Bulk!" Michael shouted, "Hit the turrets with a rocket!"

One of the marines, known as "Bulk," rose from the back of the warthog with a rocket launcher propped on his shoulder, "You got it, Spartan!"

He locked onto the first turret and fired, and without waiting fired at the second turret. Both rockets soared through the air, flying towards the turrets. The first rocket collided with the target, causing the turret to dissolve into little orange flurries.

The second rocket soared past the first target and hit the second, causing another explosion. The second turret dissolved into orange flurries the same way the first did.

"Good shot, marine!" Michael shouted as he gave a thumbs up.

The radio in Michael's helmet fired up as a female voice came through, "Omega two, please copy."

"I hear you," Michael responded.

"Good," the woman said, "I'm Commander Sarah Palmer. I'll be your handler for today."

"Sounds good, Commander," Michael said, "So what do I need to find?"

"Actually," Palmer said, "I just need you and the marines to clear the area so the egghead can snoop around. And please, Spartan, don't touch any shiny objects you see. That's what we have the egghead for."

"You got it, Commander," Michael said, "Omega two out."

The radio shut off as Michael stopped the warthog right in front of the entrance. All was quiet, except for the noises the marines made unloading equipment.

Michael already had his DMR attached to his backside, and lifted his M90 CAWS shotgun out of the driver's seat. He checked the ammo for both weapons before turning to the marines.

"Alright, marines," he said, "Commander says we have to simply clear the interior of the structure. Then we stand guard while the scientist examines everything. Ooh-rah?"

"Ooh-rah!" they shouted in unison.

"Alright," Michael shouted, "Outlaw! Once we're in, sweep right with Spence! Trice, sweep left with Bulk! I'll take the middle with the scientist!"

The group approached the entrance cautiously, scanning the area. Once they got there, Outlaw and Spence stacked on the right side of the door, and Trice and Bulk stacked up on the left. Michael hung back with the scientist.

"Move in, marines!" Michael shouted.

On queue, Outlaw and Trice entered first, one on each side, followed by Spence and Bulk.

Michael drew his DMR and entered down the middle.

"This is some real bullshit we got ourselves into," Trice muttered to Bulk while scanning the area with his MA5C Assault Rifle.

"What?" Bulk asked, following close behind, "Are you gonna pussy out already?"

Michael directed his attention towards the two, "Quiet, marines!" he whispered, "You want to give up our position?"

And then… and then… an explosion? Wait no… that's not it…

Michael was suddenly having a hard time remembering.

"Umm…. Hi Michael…"

Michael snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at the source of the soft voice. He saw a butter colored pegasus with a pink mane. The sudden attention made her back up a few steps.

"Oh, hey!" Michael said, "Fluttershy… right?"

Fluttershy recovered a bit before responding, "Yeah… I was just visiting the river to see the fish and I notice you were here." She suddenly backed away again, "I hope I'm not disturbing you…"

"Not at all, Fluttershy," Michael said in a soothing voice. He knew he had to be careful about what he says around her, "Why don't you join me?"

She seemed to ease up a bit as she slowly made her way to Michael's side, peering over the railing into the water.

Michael looked down at her, "You really are shy, aren't you?"

Fluttershy tried to hide her face with her mane, "I hope it's not a problem…"

Michael lifted her chin up with his hand, "Look, Fluttershy. There's no need to be afraid of me. I'm willing to listen and I don't mind if you're shy. That's how you are."

He began stroking her mane, which cheered her up a bit. She seemed to open up more as well.

"Michael…" she muttered, "I'm glad you aren't a mean pony… I mean human…"

"I'm glad too," he replied, "I couldn't live with myself if I was a jerk. I hate people like that anyway."

She scooted closer and sighed as she let out her regrets. She seemed to relax a little, knowing that Michael wouldn't be upset with her.

"Is your leg OK?" she asked, "I saw the princess harm you and I didn't want to look anymore."

"I'm fine Fluttershy, thanks," Michael replied, "As long as I don't run anymore I'll be fine."

"Oh that's good."

Michael and Fluttershy were both silent for a few minutes.

"I was just wondering what brung me here," Michael muttered, "I had a flashback, and I remember some of it. Then I just couldn't think anymore. I don't know. Maybe I'll remember over time."

Fluttershy seemed to be in deep thought before asking, "Do you like it here?"

Michael also thought about his answer, "I will say that it's a complete change of pace from where I'm from. In my world, I live in war. My fighting side is like second nature. But here… I have to think before fighting. There doesn't seem to be much harm here."

"I couldn't imagine anypony living in your world," Fluttershy replied, "Nopony here could possibly live through the terror of what you've been through."

"Eh, I'm used to it," Michael said, "But I do kind of like it here. It's way more peaceful."

"I understand," Fluttershy said, "Well not your world, but Equestria. I do agree it's peaceful here."

Michael sighed and stood straight up, "I'm going to head back to Twilight's place now. I want to find out more about this place. See ya, Fluttershy."

"It was nice finally meeting you, Michael," she replied, "I'm glad you're nice."

"Same here, Fluttershy." Michael said as he turned to walk in the opposite direction.

Michael walked on in silence for a few minutes, with nothing but the sound of birds chirping and the conversing of ponies every now and then. Eventually, he passed Sugarcube Corner. He could've swore he saw Pinkie Pie staring at him through a window.

When Michael arrived at the library, he went to knock, but noticed the ruined doorframe.

"Right…" he muttered, "Twilight! You home?"

"Just a sec!" a familiar voice shouted from the top of the stairwell.

Michael noticed Rainbow Dash hovering in the middle of the room reading the Daring Do book.

"Hey, Rainbow," he asked, "Do you happen to know where that orange Earth pony lives? I've seen everyone but her."

Michael waited for an answer, but ended up with nothing due to her attention focusing on the book. Michael hated it when the marines he was stationed with didn't pay attention, and now Rainbow Dash was reminding him of them. He walked up to her and snatched the book out of her hooves. She gasped as she tried to get it back, "Hey! Give it back! Daring Do was being chased by some shadow ponies!"

Michael simply stopped her assault with a hand, "I took it because you weren't listening when I asked you a question." He closed the book with his other hand.

"You asked a question?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes," he replied, "Now I was wondering where that orange Earth pony lives. I've pretty much seen everyone but her."

"Oh, you mean Applejack!" she exclaimed while Michael rolled his eyes, "She lives outside Ponyville, in Sweet Apple Acres!"

"I thought I saw some apple trees on my way out…" he muttered. Michael heard the trotting of hooves as he turned to see Twilight coming down the stairs. A question popped up in Michael's head.

"Hey Twilight?" He asked.

"What is it?"

"I was wondering, do you happen to know a spell that can speed up the healing process of my leg?"

"Well I have been practicing a healing spell," she replied, "And I need someone to test it on. Mind being my test subject?"

"Why not? Just don't cause any blood to pour out."

"Trust me, that won't happen."

Michael limped over to the nearest wall and sat down, stretching his legs outward. He didn't know where to place the book so he called Rainbow Dash, "Catch."

She caught it eagerly and flew straight to a corner to read.

Twilight trotted over to Michael with a book on spells. She opened it up and read something over before placing it down.

"Alright," she said, "It may sting a bit, OK?"

"Got it."

Twilight's horn glowed with a pink aurora as sparks began to dance playfully in the air around it. The sparks eventually appeared to get sucked into the horn's tip as they were all released at once, flowing towards the bandages on Michael's leg. When they made contact, they danced around the wound before being absorbed into the bandages. Michael's leg glowed pink as Twilight't magic went to work on the wound. He felt the flesh being pushed inward, closing itself up.

Eventually Twilight lifted her horn away from the wound and the magic dissolved in thin air.

"There," she said, "That should do it."

Michael grabbed the end of the bloody bandage and slowly unwrapped it. Revealing his exposed leg, they both realized that a scar was in the place of the wound. Twilight had healed him.

"Wow," Michael muttered, "The wonders of this world."

"Try standing on it," Twilight said.

Michael forced himself up, testing his weight on the leg. When he put some weight on it, he felt a slight pain. The wound was closed but needed to heal on the inside. But he could still run without it bleeding at least.

"So?" Twilight asked.

"Just a small pain," Michael replied, "At least it won't bleed."

"Great! Now why didn't they heal you at the hospital?"

That made Michael think. Why didn't Celestia just heal him? Was she doing tests on him? He was pretty sure that if Twilight can perform a healing spell, then certainly the princess, who is able to shoot large burning sunbeams, can do so too.

"I actually don't know," he replied, "Do you think she's hiding something?"  
"To be honest," Twilight said, "She's _always_ hiding something."

Michael wasn't surprised. "I'm going to be going now."

"You can't go anywhere! Not with your arm burned up!"

"Is it affecting any serious muscles or tissue?" he retorted.

"Well, no…"

"Then I'm going."

"Where?"

"Back into that forest."

Twilight gasped, "You mean the Everfree?!"  
"If it's the forest by Fluttershy's place, then yes."

"Michael! Are you crazy?!"

"Well, I guess you can say I am-"

"You're not going!"

"Why not?"

"Because you don't know how dangerous it is in there! There is a hydra, manticores, timber wolves, anything that will eat you up for a snack!"

"Speaking of manticores," Michael mused, "I knocked one unconscious in one blow before I found you guys."

This caught even Rainbow Dash's attention. "Wait, you knocked out a manticore?!"

"Definitely."

"That just made you… twenty percent-"

"Enough!" Twilight cut her off, "Even if you took on a manticore, there is NO way you're going back there!"

"I just want to see someone," Michael retorted, "She's the first pony I met before meeting you guys. And she DIDN'T attack me."

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"I can't say. But she is in the Everfree somewhere."

Twilight lost her intent gaze, "You're not going there."

"Yes I am. And you can't stop me."

Twilight smirked, "Oh yeah?"

Her horn glowed as she shot a laser from it at Michael. But before it touched him, it split and formed a dome around the human.

"What the-" Michael shouted from behind the barrier, "Really, Twilight?"

"Sorry Michael," she replied, a solemn look on her face, "But I can't risk losing you."

"That's fine," Michael said as he raised his fist. He slammed it into the barrier, causing the magic to crack.

"What?!" Twilight stammered, "Impossible! No pony can break a magic barrier!"

"No one but a human!" Michael shouted as he brought his fist back for another hit. It collided with the center of the cracks, shattering the barrier. He stepped towards the door as if nothing had happened. Twilight stood there in shock. Rainbow Dash on the other hand had a look of amazement on her face. "Sweet."

"I'll be off now, Twilight," Michael said smiling, "I should be back by night. See ya!"

And with that, he stepped out the door, leaving Twilight standing with her mouth open. "He just… He just… broke…"

"He just broke a freaking magic barrier!" Rainbow Dash shouted, dropping her book, "I'm gonna follow him. I can fly so I'll be safe."

Twilight didn't respond so Rainbow Dash flew out to follow Michael.

_Michael POV_

Michael didn't understand these ponies. Humans are nothing like them. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight talk like he's known them for a long time. Oh well. At least he could see Nightmare Moon again.

Michael once again passed Sugarcube Corner, this time with no sign of Pinkie. What a relief. She creeped him out whenever she peered at him from a far distance with that huge smile on her face.

He crossed the bridge leading to Fluttershy's cottage just to see her tending to her animals. A particular white bunny seemed to be poking her leg trying to get her attention. Michael prayed to God that she wouldn't see him. But of course she turned around and smiled at him, "Hi, Michael!"

She seemed to use a slightly louder tone, but was still quiet. Michael barely heard her.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" Michael rapidly said, "I gotta go into the Everfree! Bye!"

He dashed into the tree line and disappeared, leaving a confused Fluttershy trying to understand why he would go to such a place.

Michael looked behind him to make sure he was not being followed by Fluttershy. Satisfied that she flew off in the opposite direction, he started off down the dark path.

It sucked not having a motion sensor. Michael constantly heard noises all around him as he walked. Luckily, he could sense if something drew near, with the augmentations he received at a young age.

Michael knew all he had to do to find the ruins is to find the clearing. And he thought he was walking in the right direction.

Eventually. He reached the bog that he had passed last time. But this time, he wasn't wearing a helmet. The smell was bad, but not as bad as he thought.

Once again, he saw that large shadow under the water. He backed a good thirty meters away and walked around.

Michael found himself back on the wet forest path again.

"Shit man," he muttered, "Where's the clearing?"

Michael decided to try and remember how he got here again. He left off with entering the forerunner structure…

_Flashback_

"Quiet, marines!" Michael whispered, "You want to give up our position?"

Michael was walking while crouched, signaling the scientist to stay in cover. Outlaw and Spence reached a wall, with another doorway leading deeper into the structure. They paused on the right side of the doorway and stacked up, awaiting orders. Trice and Bulk also reached the doorway and stacked up on the left side.

"Doctor," Michael whispered to the scientist, "Fall in behind Outlaw and Spence. I'll scout ahead."

The scientist nodded and ran to the two marines. Once he was there, Michael stood up and walked slowly through the doorway. It was completely silent; the only sound was Michael's boots quietly tapping against the metal floor.

Michael scanned the room he entered, pointing his DMR in every direction. There was a metal platform in the middle, outlined with an orange glow. Sitting on it was none other than a Promethean crawler, staring at him. Before he could do anything, it howled loudly, alerting every single crawler in the structure. Suddenly, they appeared on the ceilings, walls, and out of thin air.

"Contacts!" Michael shouted, "Engage!"

The four marines poured in, taking cover behind multiple forerunner barriers. Michael dropped the howling crawler with a DMR round to the head, causing it to explode. All the other crawlers opened fire on him in response. Luckily his shields protected him long enough to get to cover.

The heat of the situation was intense due to large amount of forerunner bullets flying passed them. Occasionally a crawler or two would try to rush the humans, but a marine or a Spartan would quickly dispatch it.

"Damn!" Spence shouted, "How many of these things are there?!"

"Just keep shooting till they all pop!" Michael replied.

Eventually the marines mowed down the last crawler and ceased fire.

"Is that all of them?" Outlaw shouted.

"Looks like we got em all!" Bulk replied, "Clear!"

Michael stepped out of cover. "There must be something here if Prometheans are guarding it."

"Doctor?" Michael called, "You can come out now."

The scientist slowly emerged from his hiding spot, looking around casually, seeing all the dead and destroyed crawlers.

"Impressive work, Spartan," he said.

"Don't go poking around now," Michael replied, "We haven't searched the other areas of the structure."

Suddenly, Michael heard a warping noise as he turned around.

"We got a Knight!" he shouted, "Trice, behind you!"

Trice was to late to react as the Promethean Knight drove his blade right through his chest. "Arrrghh!" Trice grunted.

The Knight lifted him into the air with the sword, forcing blood out Trice's wound.

Trice unpinned a grenade from his vest and shoved it into the Knight's mouth, and pushed himself off the blade. The Knight's face exploded, dissolving it into a little glowing swirling sphere.

Trice was lying on the metal floor, slowly moving.

"Drag him to the wall and set him into a sitting position!" Michael shouted.

Outlaw and Bulk grabbed Trice by the shoulders and dragged his limp body towards a wall and sat him up. Spence kept watch with his MA5C.

"Medic!" Michael called.

"Uh…" Outlaw muttered, "Trice is the medic, sir."

"Shit!" Michael replied.

Trice looked down at his wound. "Fuck! Spartan, it… it pierced a lung. I'm… I'm a goner…"

"Don't talk like that, marine! Just stay with me!"

The radio in Michael's helmet sprung to life, "Omega Two! What's going on? Trice's signature is fading!"

"Sorry, Commander," Michael muttered, "But Trice's a goner."

There was silence for a moment before Commander Palmer spoke, "What hit him?"

"We got Prometheans, ma'am," he replied, "And there must be something here since they're guarding the structure."

"It seems dangerous, Omega Two!" she shouted, "I'm sending Majestic Team to reinforce. Can you retreat?"

"That's a negative, Commander!" Michael shouted, noticing Prometheans materialize out of nowhere, "We got Watchers and Knights appearing all over the place!"

Sure enough, a stray bullet flew past Bulk's face and hit Trice in skull. "Damnit!"

"Shit! Get to cover!" Michael commanded.

_Present Time_

Michael's mind went fuzzy as the flashback faded. For some reason he couldn't remember anymore.

"Damnit!" he grunted, "Oh. I'm here."

Without realizing, Michael was already in the clearing. It was brighter here, since the sunlight wasn't blocked by trees as much. The water glistened flowers shown in the sunlight, reminding Michael how beautiful it was last time. But the surrounding trees looked dead and gloomy, reducing the beautiful feel of the area. Just on the other side was the old bridge overlooking the ravine. And across the bridge were the ruins. Michael knew better than to cross the bridge this time.

'Great,' Michael thought, 'I don't have my thruster pack.'

Michael sat down in front of the bridge and tried to think of a way across. Then the simplest idea dawned on him.

He stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth before shouting, "Nightmare Mooooooooooon!"

Nothing happened for a moment and Michael thought she had left. But a familiar face appeared at the top of the old crumbling tower. That face looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled with glee. Nightmare Moon was here.

Michael smiled back. Nightmare Moon jumped from the top of the tower and soared straight down at him. Michael was waving, thinking the Mare of the Night would stop before reaching him. But he was a fool for thinking such a thing, and soon he realized he was wrong.

All he could say was, "Uh…oh," before Nightmare Moon barreled into him and brung him to the ground. She wrapped her hooves around him, squeezing him in tight hug.

"I thought you'd never come back!" she cried, "I thought you wouldn't want to see an evil alicorn like me again!"

"You're not evil, Nightmare," Michael replied, "You know that."

She just lay on the grass with Michael in her hooves, smiling happily. Eventually Michael muttered, "Nightmare, you can let go now."

She realized what was happening and let go, allowing Michael to stand up.

"You really missed me, huh?" he asked while brushing dirt off his legs.

"I did," she replied more formally, "I was hoping my only friend would come back."

Michael didn't mind having Nightmare Moon acting like this. She was the first to meet him and she didn't knock him out on sight. She suddenly gasped, "What happened to your arm!? Why is it wrapped in bloody bandages.?!"

Michael completely forgot about the burnt arm, "It's a long story. Why don't we go inside so I can fill you in?"

"Agreed," Nightmare Moon replied as she turned back towards the ruins.

She lifted off into the air and landed on the other side gracefully, turning to wait for Michael. He just stood there, a puzzled look on his face.

"Uh… Nightmare?" he asked, "I don't have my armor, so can you levitate me across?"

"I knew something was missing," Nightmare Moon said as she realized Michael wasn't wearing armor. Her horn glowed a dark purple aurora as she surrounded Michael with same one. She lifted Michael into the air and safely drifted him across the ravine. Michael landed beside her and the two walked into the ruins.


	7. Chapter 6: Stalkers Get Caught

**_Chapter 6:_**_ Stalkers Get Caught_

**_Location: _**_Everfree Forest_

_Rainbow Dash POV_

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy shouted… quietly.

Rainbow Dash was in the middle of flying when suddenly Fluttershy barged into her. "What is it, Fluttershy?"

"Michael went into the Everfree Forest!" she said. She was panicking.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said triumphantly, "Don't worry. Twilight already knows and so do I. I'm following him!"

Fluttershy calmed down, "Oh. OK! I was going to tell Twilight, but now I guess I don't really need to worry…"

Rainbow Dash was losing sight of Michael, "Alright, Fluttershy! Catch you later!"

At that, Rainbow Dash sped off. She flew straight above the dark forest, squinting her eyes into the dense canopy of trees.

"How do you lose a human so easily!" she moaned.

She scanned the dense jungle, at last finding Michael's head through an opening in the trees.

She swooped in right above the opening and waited for him to move. He sighed, probably because he thought Fluttershy would follow him. He continued on his way down the path. Rainbow Dash noticed he was moving towards the bog. The one that was home to the hydra.

"Oh please oh please oh please go a different way…" she whispered intently.

But Michael seemed focused on moving in that direction.

The smell of muddy water filled the air, as Michael neared the bog. Rainbow Dash, acting way more dramatically, covered her nose at the smell. Michael on the other hand winced at the smell, but paid no mind to it.

Finally Michael arrived at the bog, scanning the water for something. Did he know the hydra lived here?

Then Rainbow Dash saw an extremely large shadow underneath the water moving towards Michael. She wanted to shout a warning, but didn't want to be detected.

Luckily, Michael seemed to notice it right away and backed up a good forty feet before heading around.

"Phew!" Rainbow Dash sighed as she turned to follow Michael.

Michael slowed to a slow paced walk. Rainbow Dash groaned.

'Why in the world does he have to move slow in the EVERFREE?!' she thought.

But he appeared to be in deep thought. What was on his mind? Rainbow Dash sighed and hung her head low as she flew. This was going to be the most boring flight.

_Thirty Minutes Later_

Rainbow Dash was so zoned out that she didn't notice the ruins approach at first. She looked down at Michael, who also seemed to snap back to reality. The ruins triggered something, because he seemed to recognize the place.

'Maybe whoever he needs to talk to made the ruins their home,' Rainbow Dash thought.

Michael stumbled into the clearing beyond the bridge and stood there, admiring the beauty. But then his look of admiration disappeared as he noticed the dead trees surrounding him. He shrugged it off and headed on.

Rainbow Dash couldn't risk flying above the clearing. Her shadow could show on the ground, but most importantly, she was well aware of Michael's 'sixth sense.' He seemed to know when to react and where to look, which could be bad news for her. So she landed inside the forest and peered through a bush on the edge of the clearing.

Michael was standing at the bridge now, which was pretty much useless because of the broken planks. Michael seemed troubled at what he could do to get across. Eventually, he sat down in front of the bridge, his head resting on his hands to help him think.

After a couple of minutes, he suddenly jumped up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Nightmare Moooooooon!"

Rainbow Dash was getting excited. She was about to see who Michael first met when he got here. She was about to see someone she never met before. She… wait what? Did he just shout Nightmare Moon? No way. The Elements of Harmony destroyed her. She doesn't exist.

Rainbow Dash's body tensed at the feeling of Nightmare Moon existing again. Another everlasting night? She gazed up and scanned the ruins for any appearance of the night alicorn.

There, on the tower, movement. And then a face. A face Rainbow Dash recognized all too well.

"She… she exists?!" she asked out loud. Luckily Michael didn't hear her.

The villainous alicorn jumped from the window and soared down at Michael. What was she going to do to him? Zap him with lightning? Put him under her spell? Or worse. Tell him lies about the Princess. That was exactly what she would do. Fill his head with lies, so he would turn against them all.

She was diving quickly at Michael. Rainbow Dash thought Michael was a goner. She was nearing him. Then the two collided, and crashed to the ground.

"No… Michael… come on… fight back…" Rainbow Dash muttered.

What was she doing to him? The two seemed to be fighting on the ground before Nightmare Moon… hugged him?

Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes, just in case they were casting an illusion. But they weren't. She saw Nightmare Moon's hooves wrapped around Michael, with the biggest smile on her face. Brighter than Pinkie Pie's smile. And that's something.

For a few minutes, they lay on the ground, with Michael in Nightmare Moon's hooves. Then Michael seemed to mutter something to her and she finally let go, allowing Michael to stand up. The two chatted for a while, Nightmare Moon occasionally chuckling like the two were close friends.

Eventually, they walked to the ravine and Nightmare Moon flew over, leaving Michael on the other side. But Rainbow Dash knew Michael couldn't get to the other side without his armor.

"You dumb alicorn…" Rainbow Dash muttered in anger, "What are you planning?"

Nightmare Moon's horn began to glow as she lifted Michael and brung him to the other side. Then the two walked into the ruins.

Rainbow Dash was breathing heavily.

"So, the first pony Michael met was Nightmare Moon?" she said in anger, "Let's see how 'nice' she really is!"

At that, Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air and flew towards the ruins.

_Michael POV_

"… and then Celestia just launched a big ass burning beam of light at me!" Michael said, describing the scenario to Nightmare Moon.

The alicorn chuckled, "So I guess that's why your arm is in bandages then."

"Exactly," Michael replied, "I wasn't really paying attention and dodged at the last moment, getting my armor burnt off in the process."

"I see," Nightmare Moon said, "I sense pain in your leg. Care to share?"

"Of course. Another beam burned through my left thigh and went straight out the other side."

"Ouch. Sounds painful."

The two were standing at the top of the old tower, gazing up into the daylight.

"So how did you escape the princess?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Actually, I didn't escape," Michael replied, "I said something that got to the princess, causing her to cry. Then she spared me, and a few days later I woke up in Canterlot."

Nightmare Moon was surprised by this, "You must've said something hurtful to her to quell her rage."

"But there's something I can't wrap my head around, Nightmare," Michael said, "When I went to see the princess, her sister, Luna was there with her."

Nightmare's face darkened, "Go on."

Michael noticed that he should be careful about what he says about Luna. It seems that the topic is sensitive to Nightmare Moon.

"She… She wanted Celestia to… kill me."

Nightmare Moon didn't seemed to surprised, "Why does it look like it affects you much? You're a superhuman. Weren't you trained to have no emotion?"

"That's what I thought," Michael said, "But those words struck hard. Luna began to cry, and Celestia began to cry again… and I just ran away. I ran all the way to the train station and rode the train back to Ponyville, while BLEEDING."

Nightmare Moon's eyes widened, "You bled the whole way?!"

"I did, and I didn't care. Making the princesses cry like that struck a nerve in me, I don't understand why I'm feeling emotion."

"I might have the answer to that," Nightmare Moon said, "Equestria is a land of kindness, friendship, and harmony. The atmosphere makes any being feel more at home here. More kind. More emotional to others. It seems this world is taking quite the toll on you."

"Makes sense," Michael wondered, "But my real question is… why… did the princesses want me dead in the first place?"

Those words did something to Nightmare Moon. She took a few steps back, before regaining her royal posture, "W-What did they… do?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I understand if it's something personal, and you don't feel comfortable telling."

"No…" she replied, "I can tell you. I trust you."

Michael sat down against the wall, knowing the night princess was about to tell a story.

"The humans a thousand years ago were different," she began, "Yes, I said Equestria would make anyone feel kinder, but the humans seemed… immune to that. They were selfish, greedy, and jealous of their equine neighbors. They didn't appreciate being ruled by ponies. They thought humans should rule. So they started a conquest against the kingdom."

"I'm not surprised," Michael said, "Humans on our world in the past have done some pretty bad things too."

Nightmare Moon's face grew weary, "But the humans had weapon of great destruction. They **_killed _**many ponies who were in their way. They burned down towns and homes, no matter who lived there. Finally, they arrived in Canterlot."

Michael knew what was about to happen, he now knew what the humans did. "Back then, were the two princesses just fillies?"

"They were," Nightmare Moon continued, "And their parents ruled over the throne at the time. And to take over the throne, the rulers would have to be cut down…"

"They killed their parents." Michael muttered.

"Yes…" Nightmare Moon grew silent.

Michael slumped against the wall, shocked at what he heard. Humans were really bad in the past, weren't they? No wonder the princesses wanted him dead. His ancestors committed a terrible crime.

Michael spoke up, "How… How did the princesses live through it?"

"During the fall of Canterlot, Celestia, Luna, and their parents were on the tower balcony, watching their city burn with raging fire. They knew that it was the end for them. They knew who the humans' target was. Their parents. But they didn't want their precious fillies to die. So they hid them in a magic-activated chamber underneath the throne."

Michael was silent. He knew Nightmare Moon was once one with Princess Luna. He knew she was pretty much there when it happened.

"I-I…" tears began to trickle down her cheek, "I heard my mother's screams! I heard my father shouting! He did what he could to protect them… But in the end… they were dead."

"Nightmare… I… I had no idea… How did the humans leave?"

She was silent for a moment, wiping tears from her face with a hoof, "My sister, Celestia, was filled with anger upon hearing my mother's cries. As a filly, she blasted the throne open, and massacred the humans! I sat in the chamber, watching her fight. Then she did something… and they all disappeared. Even the humans who weren't in the war, even their children, they all disappeared. Everywhere, throughout the land, all humans were wiped from our world."

Michael was becoming depressed again. Stupid atmosphere.

Nightmare Moon continued, "When I emerged, Celestia was mourning our parents. She was… was crying by their bodies. They both died… they…" She began to cry again. "They both died in each others hooves… They lay on the floor, holding each other, even in death…"

Michael wanted to get up and throw his arms around the dark alicorn. But something was stopping him. Why was he feeling so emotional!?

Nightmare Moon stopped sobbing, though tears still stained her cheeks. She slowly walked over to Michael and slumped down, staring at the ground in front of her sadly.

Michael finally spoke in a calm, yet quiet tone, "What they did was completely wrong. It angers me to even think about it. I just don't understand what pushed them to do such a thing…"

The Mare of the Night draped her wing over Michael while wiping tears from her eyes, "Now that you know of my past, I'd like to know of yours."

"But don't you already know?" Michael asked, "You read my mind."

"Not like that," she replied, "But I wonder how you even arrived here."

Michael's face grew puzzled as he thought, "I remember some of it, but the rest is fuzzy. The last thing I remember was walking down the forest path on the rainy night I found you."

Nightmare Moon's mood brightened a little, "I think I have something that will help you remember."

Her horn began to emanate a white light as she pointed it at Michael's forehead. A small white beam shot from her horn's tip and struck Michael right on target. His eyes glowed white for a moment as the spell went to work. When it faded, Michael asked, "What did you do this time?"

"I used a spell that helps your memory improve," she replied, "All you have to do is move any irrelevant thoughts aside and focus on what you want."

Michael nodded as he turned his head towards the ground in front of him.

'Come on, Michael. Think!' he thought, 'What happened that day?'

Just like Nightmare Moon said, all the thoughts rushed back to him.

_Flashback_

"Shit! Get to cover!" Michael commanded.

Michael ran towards the back of the room and behind a wall. While leaning, he would occasionally peek out to take a headshot with his DMR.

Spence and Outlaw immediately obeyed and followed him to some barriers set up along the wall. Bulk on the other hand was in the middle of the fight.

Surrounded on all sides by Prometheans, he somehow managed to avoid oncoming bullets while pouring lead into the enemy.

"Die! All of you!" he shouted.

"Come on, Bulk!" Spence shouted, "Get back here!"

Michael knew what Bulk was doing. He turned to Spence, "He knows what he's doing."

Spence went silent.

The two marines and the Spartan provided the best support they could for Bulk. The lone marine reloaded with lightning speed whenever his clip ran dry. Michael watched as Bulk mowed down a Knight, smashed a Crawler's skull in, and shot down a Watcher.

Eventually he shouted, "Spartan! Go! Find whatever these assholes are guarding! Go!"

Michael knew when someone made sense. It was either do or die.

Bulk tossed his now empty MA5C at a Watcher, which jammed the wings and caused it to explode.

"Bulk! Rockets!" Outlaw shouted.

Bulk remembered his rocket launcher on his back. He grabbed the handle and propped it on his shoulder.

"I got three!" he shouted back.

"Spartan!" Spence shouted, "We got another door! I think I can seal it if we make it through!"

Michael ran through his options. He can stay here, and die with the team, or he can retreat deeper into the structure with the surviving marines. But that would mean… Bulk would die.

Michael looked at the lone marine, who readied up the rocket launcher. He was a dead man. Bulk knew that he was going to get himself killed.

"Marines!" Michael commanded, "Through the door! Now!"

Spence and Outlaw obeyed and retreated through the door, leaving Michael outside the door. "Where's the egghead?"

Across the room, in the open, was the scientist running towards the door.

"What an idiot!" Michael cursed, "For a scientist, common sense doesn't seem to go well!"

And of course, the scientist got lit up by a Crawler, spraying suppressor bullets into his back. The scientist stumbled forward and clambered to his knees, trying to crawl forward. Michael dropped the Crawler before it could do anymore damage.

The scientist slowly crawled aimlessly on his knees, trailing blood behind him. Michael began to step forward to defend him, but a Knight was already there. It kicked him over and…

Michael looked away. "Fuck!"

He looked over at Bulk. The marine fired his first rocket at a Knight, completely obliterating it. The second rocket was fired at a group of Crawlers, who attempted to rush him. They ended up being blown to pieces anyway. But before the last Watcher could resurrect any of the Knights, Bulk threw his knife, catching it straight in the eyes.

Michael moved through the doorway and shouted towards Bulk, "Come on, marine! Double time it!"

"No can do, Spartan!" Bulk replied, "Just go! I'll die right here! Right now!"

Michael saluted him before turning away. Spence was already trying to figure out the holographic door controls.

"Aha!" he exclaimed as he placed his hand on the center of a circle. The hologram changed from a blue light to orange as it dissolved to nothing.

The doors began to slowly slide inward as they were sealing themselves.

Michael peeked through and saw Bulk, this time in worse condition. The marine was down on one knee, a bullet hole in his shoulder and kneecap. He was painfully holding himself up with one arm while slowly loading his last rocket. What appeared to be twenty plus Knights were now marching towards Bulk, who was struggling to close the latch and secure the rocket.

_Bulk POV_

The closest Knight stepped on his free arm, causing Bulk to cry out in pain. He let go of the rocket launcher and collapsed onto the ground. The Knight aimed its scattershot down at Bulk's face.

"Not… today… big boy…" Bulk grunted as he reached out to the scattershot.

He wrestled it out of the Knight's hand and aimed it at the rocket launcher.

He pulled the trigger.

_Michael POV_

The door was about three inches open. Michael saw Bulk wrestle the scattershot from the Knight's hand. He aimed it at the rocket launcher, still containing the unlatched rocket.

_Boom._

The explosion was the last Michael saw of Bulk. What a tough guy, for a marine.

The door sealed shut, and all the humans could hear was the movement of remaining Prometheans on the other side. Spence was bent over, hands in knees, breathing deeply. Outlaw was propped against the wall, his head hanging.

"This shit is too much," Outlaw muttered, "We already lost two guys, the scientist is dead, and there's no way out of this place!"

"What did you expect when you joined the UNSC, marine?" Michael asked.

"Maybe if I was a Spartan, I would handle this better," Outlaw retorted.

"Look," Michael said, "I'm just gonna flat out tell it to you. There is a very slim chance we make it out of here alive. That's right. I'm probably going to die too. A Spartan isn't good enough to take on hundreds of Prometheans at once. There was only one Spartan to do anything like that."

"Master Chief," Spence muttered.

"That's right," Michael continued, "And I'm nothing compared to Master Chief. So the best we can do is venture deeper into the structure and radio the commander of what we find. Got it?"

Outlaw replied quietly, "Yes sir."

Michael contacted Commander Palmer, "Commander. We are even deeper inside the structure. Trice is KIA, Bulk is KIA, and the egghead is KIA."

"Damnit, Spartan," Palmer replied, "I was really counting on you to accomplish the mission."

"Commander," Michael replied bluntly, "We weren't expecting this much resistance. Even Majestic Team would have trouble handling this many Prometheans. There is nothing I can do."  
The radio was silent, so Michael continued, "I'll just tell you right now that the three of us, including me, will probably be dead by the time reinforcements arrive. So we're going to head deeper to see if we can find any treasures these guys are guarding."

All Michael heard was static before Commander Palmer's voice came in, this time using his name. "Copy that, Michael. See you in the next world. Palmer out."

Michael sighed and turned to the marines, "Let's go."

_Present Time_

Something interrupted his thoughts. Not a sound of any type. He saw movement. The movement of a familiar rainbow mane outside the window. Nightmare Moon noticed him snap out of thinking.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, really," Michael said as he slowly walked towards the window, "It's just for some reason… I just couldn't think anymore."

Nightmare Moon was about to speak, but Michael put a finger on his lips, telling her to stay quiet. He crept up to the window and peeked over.

Michael knew who it was the moment he saw her mane dash underneath the windowsill.

Michael reached out and grabbed her tail, yanking her through the window.

"Oh my God," he groaned, "Rainbow…"

The cyan pegasus flailed in his hands, trying to get free, "Let go, Michael!" she looked directly at Nightmare Moon, shooting her an accusing look, "What did you do to him?!"

Nightmare Moon chuckled, amused at her anger, "Oh nothing. We were just having a talk. We didn't know we had somepony eavesdropping on us."

Rainbow Dash struggled every few seconds, thinking Michael would let his guard down. But Spartans stay focused.

Michael held Rainbow Dash in one arm, facepalming while shaking his head. "Come on, Rainbow."

"Michael!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "Let go! We can take her on together."

"Rainbow," Michael asked, "Why does everyone, or pony, have their minds bent around the fact that Nightmare Moon is evil?"

"What she did is unforgiveable! She took over Princess Luna and tried to bring eternal night! Why are you even **_siding _**with her?!"

Nightmare Moon's face fell as she began feeling bad about the incident. Rainbow Dash's words cut deep.

Michael didn't like that, "I'm siding with her because instead of straight up accusing, I **_listen_**. A skill you could make use of."

Those words cut deep into Rainbow Dash, since she grew silent.

Michael didn't know what to say. Rainbow Dash knows Nightmare Moon exists, and she would probably speed off and tell the rest of Equestria the minute he lets go of her. That would be bad news for Nightmare Moon.

"Can't you just hear her side of the story?" Michael asked, glaring down at her.

Rainbow Dash hesitated to answer, but eventually she muttered, "Fine…"

"OK, I'm gonna set you down now. Promise you won't fly away?"

"I… I promise…"

"Ok." Michael went to set her down, but Nightmare Moon interrupted him.

"That's a bad idea and you and I both know it," she commented.

"Let me just give her a chance," Michael suggested.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes and nodded for him to continue. Michael nodded back, and slowly placed Rainbow Dash on the ground.

As soon as his hands left her sides, she darted towards the window. "See you later, chumps!"

Nightmare Moon once again rolled her eyes as she seized Rainbow Dash in midair with the levitation spell. "Really?"

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash. Really?" Michael asked.

"What? I don't trust her." Rainbow Dash replied bluntly.

"Ugh," Michael groaned, "Nightmare, bring her to me. You can tell your story with her in my arms."

"I told you it was a bad idea," Nightmare Moon said with a smirk. She levitated Rainbow Dash to Michael, who reached out placed her in one arm again.

"Go ahead, Nightmare," Michael said, "And this time, tell your story calmly, so Rainbow Dash doesn't cower."

"Hey! I'm not scared!" the rainbow pegasus shouted.

"Of course your not," Nightmare Moon said strictly, glaring at her, "Then you wouldn't mind me telling you the story, face to face."

Michael smirked as he felt Rainbow Dash jerk in his arm. Nightmare Moon noticed too, since she slowly walked towards the two. She stopped right in front if Rainbow Dash and sat down, so they could be at the same eye level. The brash pegasus began trembling, amusing Nightmare Moon.

"Ok. Since we are at the same eye level, allow me to begin. A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and I, Princess Luna, liberated Equestria from the dark forces that invaded it."

Michael new what she was talking about. The human invasion.

"Celestia and I took over the throne after the war. To bring day she raised the sun. To bring night, I raised the moon. I was still learning to perfect the spell, so my sister added the beautiful starry designs for me. During my royal duties, ponies would acknowledge me for the beautiful night. I would always thank them for the praise, but felt guilty since the work wasn't all mine."

Rainbow Dash stopped trembling, slowly opening up to the dark alicorn.

Nightmare Moon continued, "Every night, I stood on the balcony of the tower, gazing down at the city below. No ponies were anywhere on the streets. Instead, they were inside, sleeping, not seeming to appreciate the night. Why couldn't they be outside, enjoying the night the same they did the day? But I was nothing but a fool for thinking such things. Back then, I didn't really ponder the thought that ponies need sleep. And what made it worse, I witnessed a majority of crimes happen during my night. Why the night? Why not commit these horrible crimes in the day?"

Michael realized that Rainbow Dash had her full attention on Nightmare Moon. Taking advantage of the moment, he very slowly placed her down, making sure to not make any sudden movements. Rainbow Dash didn't notice at all when she was on solid ground and Michael had let go of her. Nightmare Moon's words were really getting to her.

"Eventually," Nightmare Moon lowered her head, ashamed of the next words, "I grew dimmer. Princess Luna allowed the darker side of her, me, to take over. And I refused to bring down the moon for dawn. I kept it there, prolonging the night. My sister didn't take to kindly to that. Yes, I was her sister, but her priority was to keep Equestria safe. Thus, she banished me to the moon."

Rainbow Dash's expression saddened as Nightmare Moon went on, "For years I remain on the moon. Nearly everyday I cried. I always gazed back at my world, shouting 'WHY?!' in tears and anger. I asked myself, why? Why did my sister have to do something like this? Of course now, I know the answer. But back then, all I wanted was revenge."

Michael stood behind Rainbow Dash, arms crossed, listening to everything the alicorn said.

"That's when I returned, only to cause more trouble. I brought back an eternal night. I just wanted to be loved, and appreciated. But…" She drooped her head, "But I did it the wrong way…"

Rainbow Dash nudged her, "Yeah you kind of did."

Nightmare Moon sat back up, "Yes. And the six of you guys put a stop to me, thankfully. But the rainbow merely separated me from Princess Luna."

Michael snapped to realization. That dream… with the green Spartan… the six ponies who shot the rainbow at Nightmare Moon. Could it be?

The rainbow pony definitely was Rainbow Dash, the purple unicorn was definitely Twilight, the white, dazzling unicorn was Rarity, the buttery pegasus was Fluttershy, the poofy pink pony was Pinkie Pie, and that orange earth pony was… the same one he saw at Fluttershy's house. He thought Rainbow Dash mentioned her name, but he couldn't remember.

But still, there was no doubt the six was in the dream. They were the ones who stopped Nightmare Moon? But what about the green Spartan? Does he even exist?

Michael realized the dream wasn't just a dream, but a vision of the future. But how? Who was the green Spartan?

"Is there something wrong, Michael?" Nightmare Moon asked, noticing the dumbstruck look on his face. Rainbow Dash was also staring at him worriedly.

"Oh, nothing. I just… remembered something! From how I got here!" he lied.

Nightmare Moon smiled, "I can sense you're lying."

"OK, fine. I'll tell you later."

Nightmare Moon returned her attention back to Rainbow Dash, "Anyway, the point is, I wanted to be loved. I wanted to be accepted the same way Celestia was. I just… I just beg of you, forgive me. I'm truly sorry for the pain and fear I caused for my actions. It was truly the uttermost wrong thing to do. I don't know anyway I can make up for my actions, but please… forgive me."

Rainbow Dash glared at her for a moment, giving the impression of an awkward silence. But suddenly, Rainbow Dash smiled half-heartedly.

"You know what?" she said, "I'll be honest. I don't fully trust you yet, Nightmare Moon. What you did really hurt the princess and every other pony in Equestria." She then turned towards Michael, "But if Michael trusts you, then I don't have a reason to accuse you of anything…"

Nightmare Moon literally jumped five feet in the air in glee, "You forgive me? I didn't expect you to-"

Rainbow Dash cut her off, "But, if you even DARE give me a reason to change my mind, even the SLIGHTEST bit, I'll take all my regrets out on you. I swear it. As soon as I see you betray Michael, you'll wish you never did."  
Michael took a step back in astonishment. Even for a Spartan, that sounded pretty harsh. He didn't expect Rainbow Dash to say something like that. Knowing her, she'd probably just flat out half-lie. Was it because of him?

"Oh," Nightmare Moon replied sadly, "I… I won't…"

Rainbow Dash started towards the window, before turning to Michael, "We have to leave now, isn't that right, Michael?"

Michael turned towards the pegasus, "Just one moment, I'll be out there."

Rainbow Dash groaned before flying out the window.

Michael turned back to Nightmare Moon, who was standing there, shocked at Rainbow Dash's words. Michael could tell they struck a nerve deep inside her.

"Michael… she doesn't really… trust me… does she?" she whispered.

"She said she doesn't fully trust you," Michael replied with a soothing tone, "She slightly trusts you, but between you and me, I think she was a bit jealous."

"But what for?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"That you were the first to meet me here," Michael said, "The first to be friendly towards me. You didn't attack me on sight. Rainbow Dash and Twilight did attack me. So I do trust you more than them."

Nightmare Moon lowered her head, "Thank you… Michael… for being a friend to me. I know I don't deserve it, but…"

"Are you truly sorry for what you did?" Michael asked.

"Yes... but-"

"Then you deserve my kindness."

Michael turned to leave, "Bye, Nightmare Moon. I'll come back in a few days."

He got no response, so he began his descent down the staircase.

"Michael, wait."

Before Michael could respond, he was lifted into the air and dragged back to Nightmare Moon. Once he got to her, she threw her hooves around him, beginning to cry quietly into his shoulder.

"I'm so grateful I was able to meet you," she whispered.

Michael was still awestruck that he was suddenly brung back to her so quickly, but recovered in time to reply, "No problem, Nightmare."


	8. Update

**Hey guys, it's RampageH. Just wanna let you guys know that I've been busy with exams, so I haven't gotten much time to type. But I will let you know that the next chapter is almost done, so don't worry! So, sorry for the wait. It'll be done soon. Thanks for reading and I hope you guys have like it so far.**

**Update: 1/27/14**

**The next chapter has been uploaded so if you just read the above paragraph, then there is nothing to worry about.****  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 7:_**_ Return to Canterlot_

The return to Twilight's library was almost uneventful. The only thing that really happened during the boring walk was Rainbow Dash asking Michael about Nightmare Moon. He had no idea why she was asking these questions. Most of them weren't even really about her doing evil things. They were about why Michael likes her so much. Why did she ask these questions?

Eventually they made it to the familiar giant tree. It was a few hours after the moon rose and there weren't any ponies hanging around outside.

The two didn't have to knock, since the door was still busted open thanks to Michael. Rainbow Dash chuckled when she remembered what happened.

Michael stepped inside first, followed by Rainbow Dash. Scattered all over the floor were books of many topics on humans. Lying in the middle was Twilight, her head lying in an open book. She looked totally exhausted, dark circles outlining the bottom of her eyes.

Rainbow Dash groaned, "I'm not surprised."

"Me neither," Michael muttered, "Where's her bed at?"

"Upstairs," Rainbow Dash replied while looking up. Michael noticed that she was actually looking directly at the bed itself, which was placed beside a window. You could see it from the bottom floor, since there was no ceiling or wall blocking the view.

Michael nodded as he walked over to the sleeping unicorn. She snorted loudly when Michael picked her up, but drifted back into her deep sleep.

"I'll be right back," Michael whispered to Rainbow Dash as he started up the stairs. They were pretty much carved from the interior of the tree, a convenient way to get to the next floor. In fact, almost everything was carved from the interior. The walls, bookshelves, and cabinets were all part of the tree itself.

He saw the small bed right away as he reached the top of the steps. He glanced down at Twilight, who was still sound asleep in his arms, snoring lightly.

He noticed the baby dragon sound asleep as well in a small basket next to the bed. He stepped over it and slowly lowered Twilight into her own bed. Once he thought she was in a comfortable position, he pulled the covers over her and stood back up.

Looking down at her made him think. '_What am I even doing? Spartans don't act like this!'_

He shook his head. Should he accept the kind personality the world is giving him? He pushed the thoughts aside.

Michael walked quietly down the stairs, careful not to wake up Twilight and the dragon. He made his way to the bottom and glanced towards Rainbow Dash, who once again had her head in the Daring Do book. Without thinking Michael walked to her and plucked the book from her hooves. It took a few moments for the pegasus to realize what happened before shouting.

"Hey! What was that for?! Did you ask me something again?"

Michael put a finger to his lips, "Shhhh! You'll wake them. And no, I didn't ask you anything. I just knew better than to ask first. Anyway I have two questions."

"Go for it," Rainbow Dash replied.

"One, Twilight really doesn't mind having the door gaping open like that?" Michael asked, "Wouldn't a thief sneak in?"

"A thief?" she replied, puzzled, "There is literally no crime in Ponyville. But the Princess says she's had a few minor incidents with stealing… Anyway, why'd you ask?"

"Because back in my world, crime is a common danger. It happens almost all the time."

"Really? I can't imagine living anywhere with that much crime. So what's your second question?"

Michael smiled sheepishly, "Uhhh… shower?"

Rainbow Dash almost burst into laughter if it weren't for the sleeping unicorn and dragon. "Downstairs…"

Michael shot Rainbow Dash a "Really?" look as he went down the stairs in the back of the room.

**_Location:_**_ Canterlot Royal Palace_

_Celestia POV_

The princess was proceeding to go to sleep as well; it was getting really late. Luna had raised the moon and was now keeping watch over the city for her.

She kept on thinking about what happened that day. The day the human arrived. The day she… attacked him. She felt truly sorry for what she did. But those memories… those terribly harsh memories of her mother. Those terribly harsh memories of her father. The memories of that day were unbearable. She couldn't control herself. That was rare for her. And Michael… he got to her that day. A mere human. The bane of her existence. Yet she no longer sees him as a threat.

He taught her something. It may not have technically been about friendship, but… but it was something. Something that counted.

She got Twilight Sparkle's letter earlier today. She was so worried of Michael's safety. Thankfully, he was safe. But how'd he manage to survive losing so much blood? He seems to carry plenty of secrets with him. She meant to do a mind read when he was in the hospital, but she was too busy. Oh well. She already knew his biggest secret that resides here in Equestria.

When she sent out a search party to find Michael, some patrolled the Everfree forest. Two of her guards wandered near the ruins there. She has no idea why, but they claim to have followed Rainbow Dash, wondering why she was in the Everfree.

She eventually flew to the ruins, where Rainbow Dash stayed hidden. In the clearing was Michael. They were about to report back to the princess that he was ok, but something the human shouted caught their attention.

Celestia didn't believe the guards at first, since the alicorn they claimed to have seen was supposed to have been overpowered and destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. But Celestia could see the truth inside the guards' eyes, and had to accept the truth. Nightmare Moon still exists.

The guards witnessed the dark alicorn tackle Michael, then… hug him. This puzzled Celestia. Since when does a villainous side of her sister ever show affection?

_'Perhaps Michael has befriended her… maybe he convinced her to be good…' _she thought.

Impossible. That was the word that popped up in her head. Legend has it that the Nightmare Entity can't commit to such… good. No matter. She will have to be dealt with immediately. But how did she even survive the Elements of Harmony?

Suddenly an incredible idea crept into Celestia's mind. She knew how to deal with the Mare of the Night.

"Nightmare Moon is nothing but trouble," she muttered to herself, "Luna and I will have to deal with her when the time is right. We will make sure she never, ever returns."

_Back in Ponyville…_

The bathtub was extremely small for Michael, but he was able to manage to fit in it. He found some weird shampoos, that smelled nice of citrus. He managed to wash his suit too, finding a tub and filling it to the brim with water. Though he was cautious of Rainbow Dash wandering down there, since the suit was the only clothing he had.

After wringing his suit to squeeze out all the water and drying it, he slipped it back on. Luckily, Rainbow Dash didn't come down there during that period of time.

Eventually he walked back up the stairs that lead out of the basement, feeling so clean. His hair was still slightly damp, but it felt good.

Right away, he noticed Rainbow Dash half asleep reading Daring Do. He decided to leave her alone this time. He wasn't even tired. He just rested for four days straight in the hospital. So he walked over to the pile of open books on the floor and decided to reorganize them on the shelves to save Twilight the work. Here goes the random kindness again.

He started with a book that read, _Equestria's Myths._ It was open to a page about the human race a thousand years or so ago. It discussed that the humans were an incredibly smart race, and easily survived without controlling weather and magic. It mentioned the fall of Canterlot, and how Celestia ridded the land of them.

According to legend, she used a spell that only the royal family could use. What the spell did was rid the planet of any species and send them across the galaxy to another life-bearing planet. Thus, she completely banned humans from their world for good.

'_That is until I somehow arrived,'_ Michael thought.

The book didn't mention the death of the princess's parents though. Thank God.

He walked over to a shelf labeled with _E_ and placed the book between two others. But then something caught his attention. One of the books was labeled, _Equestria, _fine golden letters.

In smaller lettering underneath the big word, was _An Encyclopedia on Everything You Need to Know!_ He did want to study this world.

He lifted the book off its shelf and flipped to the table of contents. _Equestrian History, Ponies and Their Roles, Wonderbolts, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, Weather Patrol, Moon and Sun._

Michael slumped against a wall and sat down, starting from the beginning of the book. But he skipped Equestrian History since he already knew about it. Well almost.

Ponies and Their Roles. According to the book, Unicorns can be identified by the distinct horn on their heads. They use those horns to cast spells, ranging from the simple levitation spell to the complicated teleportation spell. He read that there are defensive and offensive spells as well, ranging from a simple barrier to painful beams. Much like what Celestia used.

He continued to Pegasi. They are very easily recognized, thanks to the distinct wings on each side of their body. They are extremely lightweight, allowing them to soar high and fast. One of the most important roles they have is the weather patrol. Pegasi are able to manipulate clouds. This is something Michael didn't know. They basically set up a weather schedule. They can plan rain on one day, and clear skies on another.

Then there's the Earth Pony. Though they lack a horn and wings, they are extremely powerful. They are usually way heavier than most ponies due to the amount of muscle packed into their bodies. You usually find them performing hard tasks that require strength. Though they can't fly or use magic, they seem to not mind and live happy lives.

Alicorns. Michael didn't need to read about them. He already knew much of them. The main thing is, they are usually treated like royalty. Some hate that feeling, and want to live like any normal pony. But lucky enough for them, they can both fly and use magic. Just like his dear friend Nightmare Moon.

Michael looked up from the book. Rainbow Dash was slowly flying towards him. Once she landed beside him, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Uh… Rainbow?" Michael asked.

"Watcha reading?" she asked, ignoring him.

Michael was silent for a moment, wondering what she was doing, but then replied, "Just reading a book on Equestria. I mean, I'm not leaving anytime soon, so I might as well learn about this place."

"That's cool…" she yawned again.

Michael went back to reading. He read over something about the Wonderbolts. He saw a few pictures of them trailing smoke behind them as they flew. It reminded him of the annual air show back on Reach.

About thirty minutes or so later, he heard light snoring next to him. Sure enough, with her head rested on his shoulder, was Rainbow Dash, fast asleep. Michael couldn't help but smile.

He didn't really want to read anymore, so he tossed the book onto the pile that Twilight created. He gently lifted Rainbow Dash's head off his shoulder and laid it on the floor. Then he just stood there motionless.

What is there to do anymore? For once in his life, he was actually bored. No weapons to practice with, no obstacle course to run, nothing.

Suddenly he heard the dragon groan. Michael looked up to see him standing beside his bed, rubbing his eyes.

Michael talked quietly up to him, "What's up?"

He looked back down, remembering the human before replying, "I feel a message about to come up."

"Wait, what?" Michael asked, puzzled.

"Hold on, let me get down there and I'll explain…" the dragon replied before making his way to the stairs in a hurry. He waddled down, almost tripping a few times before finally reaching the bottom. He made his way over to Michael.

"Ok," he said, slowly panting, "Twilight and I have to send messages to the princess somehow, right? Well I'm pretty much the sender and receiver."

"How's that?" Michael asked.

"Well you see-" The dragon suddenly burped loudly, and a scroll flung out his mouth into his hands.

"What the-" Michael stammered.

"That's how," the dragon replied.

The dragon unrolled the scroll and read its contents. He then offered it to Michael.

"The princess says it's for you," he said.

"Weird," Michael muttered, "Why would the princess send a letter this late?"

"I dunno, but you should probably read it."

Michael hesitated at first, but then accepted the scroll from the dragon. He opened it up and skimmed through its contents. It was fairly short.

_Dear Michael,_

_I am ever so relieved that you are well. You had me worried terribly. Anyway, I have an important gift for you. Please come to Canterlot first thing in the morning. I'm sure you'll love it._

_From the Princess of the Sun, _

_Princess Celestia_

Michael rolled the letter back up. His curiosity at what this gift was eluded him. What is this gift?

"Thanks, uh…" Michael didn't know what the dragon's name was.

"It's Spike," the dragon said, chuckling.

"Ok, thanks Spike," Michael said, "You can go back to bed now. I don't want to hold you any longer."

"It's no problem-," he yawned, "… It's no problem really. Thanks anyway."

At that, the baby dragon stumbled back up the stairs and into his basket bed.

_'What to do…' _Michael thought as he paced around the room. Rainbow Dash was still sound asleep on the floor, and Twilight and Spike were sound asleep in their own beds.

Michael walked back over to the wall by Rainbow Dash and slumped down against it again. He lifted her head and placed it back on his shoulder slowly, so she didn't wake up on hard wood floor.

Nightmare Moon had explained how the memory spell works. When used, the affected pony, or person, must concentrate on what they want to remember. If it took place a while back, then they will experience a flashback. The flashback will continue until they are either finished, or interrupted.

Michael leaned his head back and prepared for another flashback. He pushed all his thoughts aside as Nightmare Moon had instructed him. Relaxing his body, the memories once again revealed themselves to him.

_Flashback_

The two marines, lead by Michael, moved quickly and quietly through the long hallways. Fear was in control of the marines. They shot their eyes every which way and pointed their guns in every direction, cautious of whatever was waiting for them.

Michael too was cautious, but not afraid. He knew what his fate may be and accepted it. Every now and then they'd hear a sound. It would either be a simple knocking sound, or a low rumbling hum. They all knew it was the structure itself emanating the noises. There were certain things that made Michael shudder, and forerunner structures were one of them.

They came to a split in the hallway, leading into two different directions.

"Oh man oh man," Outlaw muttered, "You're going to split us up aren't you?"

Michael turned to the marine, "Really? Of course not. This isn't some stupid horror movie where they all split up when a murderer is chasing them."

Outlaw calmed down, "I guess that was a stupid assumption…"

They continued on in silence.

Eventually they met another door. It was sealed shut. Michael looked at Spence, who walked up to the door controls on the side.

"Let's see…" he muttered, "Maybe if I just press here…"

He did the same thing he did with last door, placing his palm in the middle of the holographic sphere. As soon as he touched it, the sphere did a sort of mini explosion, and dissolved.

"I don't think that was supposed to happen…" Spence muttered.

Michael didn't have time for this. He contacted the Commander.

"Omega two to Commander," he said.

A few moments of static, then, "Go ahead Omega two."

"We've got a door in our way, Commander," Michael said, "Any alternate routes?"

"Give me one sec…" she replied.

Michael stood there a few more minutes, patiently waiting for something helpful.

"Got a grenade, Spartan?" Commander Palmer asked.

"Will a breaching charge do?" he asked.

"It'll do _better_ than a grenade."

Michael unzipped the pouch on his chest and pulled out the breaching charge. "Where do you want it?"

"I'll mark a waypoint."

After a couple seconds, an orange waypoint appeared on Michael's visor. It was directing him toward a wall to the right of the door.

"Why don't I just plant it on the door?" Michael asked while making his way towards the spot.

"Scans show the door has an unusual material made into it." She replied, "I don't want you causing some nuclear blast from a simple charge."

Michael tore a sheet off the back of the charge to expose the sticky substance that secures it to anything. He kneeled down and pressed the charge into the wall.

Spence walked up to him, "How will we detonate it?"

"Simple," Michael replied while standing back up, "We shoot it."

Spence grinned and took a few steps back with Michael out of the blast radius.

When the three were clear of the blast, Michael pulled his DMR off his back. No need to explain. He just raised his rifle and shot a bullet without hesitating right into the center of the charge. Simple as that.

_Boom._

_Present Time_

"Wha-?" Rainbow Dash muttered while yawning, "Michael?"

Michael snapped out of thinking and shook his head. It was morning already. Sunlight beamed through the windows, lighting up the library and making it more cheery. Rainbow Dash was rubbing her eyes while looking around.

"Michael…" she asked, "Did I-"

Michael cut her off, "Yes you did."

The pegasus hid a small blush as she quickly stood up.

"I'll just be going now," she sputtered, "Bye, Michael! Tell Twilight I said hi!"

After those last words, Rainbow Dash sped off through the door and into the morning light.

Michael watched her with a puzzled look, wondering what the rush was about. He shrugged his shoulders. Probably nothing.

He looked up at the top floor. Twilight was just beginning to wake up. She stirred a bit in her bed before bolting up.

"Michael!" she shouted.

"What?" he replied.

The unicorn looked at him for a moment, then sighed in relief that she was in bed.

"Just a bad dream, don't worry about it," she muttered tiredly.

Michael nodded and went back to thinking. Not of the memories, but why it was hard to remember. He knew something here was disrupting his memory. He just needed to find out what.

He was interrupted by Spike, who coughed up another scroll. After recovering, he opened it up and read its contents.

Twilight yawned, "…What does it say, Spike?"

"Umm… Its for Michael," the dragon replied.

"Again?" Michael asked.

"Yep."

Spike hopped down the steps and made his way to Michael again. He handed it to Michael, who wondered what it was the princess wanted now.

Before he read, Spike spoke, "Did you even sleep?"

"Didn't need to," Michael replied.

Michael looked back at the scroll and unrolled it.

It read:

_Dear, Michael_

_ I have sent two royal guards to meet you at the train station. I know you don't have money so I covered the expenses for you. See you soon._

_ Yours truly, _

_ Princess Celestia_

Michael was grateful for the princess's kindness. He looked up at Twilight, who was standing by her bed with a nice bed-headed mane.

"What did it say?" she asked.

"I have to be at the train station right away," he replied.

"Hmm…" Twilight muttered, "I wonder what for. Anyway, if the princess wants to see you, I suggest leaving right away."

"I guess that's what I'll do then," Michael said.

"Wait…" Twilight stopped him, "Aren't you going to eat something?"

"I don't need to," he replied.

"Really?" she asked, "That's interesting. When you get back, can I learn more about you?"

'_She really is eager to learn, isn't she?' _Michael thought.

"Sure, why not," he said as he headed out the door.

It was a pleasant day. Warm and sunny, with a cool, gentle breeze.

Once he was out the broken door, he ran into that orange earth pony again. She still wore the Stetson hat on her head. She was pulling a cart of apples in the direction of the market, most likely to sell. The apples on her flank confirmed that she specializes in apples.

She noticed him right away, "Oh hey there, sugarcube. I didn't quite catch yer name last time we met!"

"Oh hey," Michael said, "Call me Michael. By the way, I don't remember your name either."

The earth pony chuckled, "The name's Applejack. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Michael."

"Isn't the market in the same direction as the train station?" Michael asked.

"Sure is!" Applejack replied enthusiastically, "Why do ya need to get to the train station?"

"Celestia wants me to meet her in Canterlot," Michael replied, "And I assume you are heading to the market to sell?"

They proceeded to walking towards the market.

"Yes, I'm headed to the market," Applejack said, "Wait! Did you just say the princess wants to see you?! That sound like an honor! I saw you fight the princess the other day. I was mighty worried for ya."  
"Thanks, Applejack," Michael said, smiling, "And the princess says she has a gift for me. I wonder what it is…"

"I heard what ya said to her too," Applejack muttered, "It was very touching. You even made the princess cry!"

Michael winced at the memory, "You're not mad at me for that, are you?"

"Of course not!" Applejack said, "We're not allowed to go against the princess's wishes. But I think she was being pretty pointless that day."

Applejack was obviously oblivious to the human invasion a thousand years ago. Michael didn't mention it to her.

"Yeah," he lied, "I didn't really know why either."

Unfortunately for Michael, the two had eye contact while he said the lie.

Applejack halted in her tracks, "Did ya just lie to me?"

That kind of shocked Michael, "N-no… I-"

"I can tell that you just lied to me," Applejack said bluntly, staring into his eyes.

"How would you know?" Michael asked calmly.

"I'm the Element of Honesty," she replied, "I can tell if a pony was lying any day."

"The Element of Honesty, huh?" Michael said, "Yeah you caught my bluff."

Applejack smirked in triumph, "Care to tell the truth? 'Cause apparently you know why the princess attacked ya."

They continued walking as Michael replied, "I'd rather not. It's an uncomfortable topic for the princess and I. Don't worry, I don't hate you or anything."

Applejack cringed at the word hate. Apparently they don't really like the word.

"It's fine," Applejack said, "I respect touchy topics."

"Thanks," Michael said.

They finally arrived at the market. Ponies were wandering here and there, examining the shops and their merchandise. Immediately noticing Michael, the entire area went quiet and shopped in silence. Michael was getting a bit fed up with all of this.

Applejack seemed to notice his tension, "Are you alright, sugarcube?"

"I would say, I'm fine, but you can tell I'm lying," he replied, "What's wrong is the negative attention. That's all."

Applejack looked up at him worriedly, then muttered, "If ya need me, Michael, I'm always around. Anyway, I gotta get going. I need to set up shop and sell some apples."

"You do that," Michael said, "See ya, Applejack."

"Bye, Michael," she said a bit sadly.

_'Is she really sad because the other ponies fear me?'_ he asked himself, '_This world is too nice.'_

Applejack made a right and began unloading apples into a stall to sell. Instantly, several customers appeared in a line to buy. Michael sighed and walked away.

Ahead of him was the train station. He noticed right away the two royal guards loitering by the toll box. They wore their recognizable armor with the usual hardened look on their faces. They immediately noticed the human approaching them and stopped looking bored. They stood straight up as if they had done nothing the whole time.

Michael spoke first, "I'm guessing you guys are here to escort me to the princess?"

"Yes, sir," the first one said, "Right this way."

The other guard was finishing off paying the pony in the toll box. Michael noticed the pony gaze around the guard to get a good look at him, but paid no mind to it.

The first guard led Michael to the very first train car. Michael gazed through the window and noticed how luxurious the inside was. It must've been some kind of first class seating. And Celestia paid for it. Why was she treating him so respectfully?

It didn't matter. Fortunately, they were the only ones there. No other ponies but the two guards. Thus, Michael wouldn't receive any unwanted attention.

Michael let out a sigh of relief as he sat down in the seat closest to the door. The seat was covered in leather, yet it was very soft. He slumped down in it, feeling all the sore joints in his body relax.

The guards took two seats directly across from him, seeming to let out tension as well in the comfortable cushions.

The train let out a low rumble as the engine fired up. The conductor poked his head out the window of the head train and shouted, "All aboard!"

Instantly a crowd of ponies hanging out around the train made their way into certain cars to make the trips. One pony broke away from the crowd and made her way to the first class train car Michael was in. Michael prayed she wouldn't go inside the car, since he didn't want much company. But he changed his mind when he recognized who it was. Her pure white coat and clean curly purple mane was all too recognizable.

When she walked in through the door, Michael asked, "Rarity?"

The confused unicorn stared at him for a moment before speaking, "Why hello, darling!"

"What brings you here?" Michael asked.

Rarity made her way to the seat beside Michael and set her saddle bags down, "Well I'm on my way to Canterlot to meet a very special client! She wants me to make her a dress for a performance she'll make!"

"And I'm guessing you just had to have first class?" Michael asked at an attempt to humor.

"Why of course!" Rarity replied, frowning, "Those other train cars are just too plain!"

Michael chuckled.

"So why are you here, Michael?" Rarity asked.

"As you can see by the guards sitting across from us," Michael replied, "The princess wants to see me. She has some special gift she wants to give to me."

"That sounds wonderful!" Rarity exclaimed, "I'm sure it will be very nice, coming from the princess!"

"Yeah… I hope so…"

"What's wrong, darling?" Rarity asked, gazing at Michael with a worried expression.

Michael was about to explain, but decided against it, "Nothing. Just guess I'm tired…"

"Did you not sleep?" Rarity asked jokingly.

"Actually, I didn't."

"Oh my," Rarity gasped, "Why not?"

"I didn't need to," Michael replied. Before Rarity could respond, he said, "Too much to explain why."

Rarity nodded and gazed out the window. Michael did the same. The train platform was crowded with ponies, waiting for the next train to arrive. Almost every one of them stared at the first train car, which Michael was in.

The train suddenly lurched forward and was off, slowly gaining speed. Michael let out a relaxed sigh.

He stared out into the beautiful scenery passing the train. Things were much different here. Instead of constantly being alert, he actually felt more secure, like there weren't any threats here. Somehow he felt more at home here.

Michael shook his head. What was he thinking? He doesn't belong here. He's human. They're horses… er ponies. Two different species, practically no evil, nothing to really fight. That's what made Michael feel alive. Fighting. It's in human blood. It gets your adrenaline pumping and sends a rush throughout your body.

Michael's thoughts were interrupted by Rarity, who was trying to get his attention.

"Michael? Are you alright?"

Michael snapped back to reality, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

The facial expression on Rarity's face told Michael she would die to know why he's keeping to himself.

"Alright," Michael sighed, "I just don't feel like I belong in this world."

Rarity gasped, "Michael! How could you say such a thing? Of course you belong! You already made friends with some of us! What's bothering you so much?"

What was really bothering Michael is the whole Nightmare Moon secret. He knows he can't tell Rarity. So what should he say?

"Trust me, Rarity," Michael replied after a moment, "It's nothing much. Just a hard-to-explain kind of thing, that's all."

Rarity looked back out the window, "Ok, darling. But if you need to talk about something, I'm here."

Michael nodded. Rarity seemed understanding. But he still cannot tell her about Nightmare Moon. He just hoped that Rainbow Dash isn't saying anything to anyone… or anypony. Michael smiled a bit at the word. Everypony.

**_Canterlot Royal Palace_**

"Sister, what happened to the human?"

Celestia and Luna were sitting upon their thrones, conversing about random things going on about Equestria when Luna brought up the question. Celestia sighed.

"Luna," she began, "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth in the first place. But I promise you, he's different from the ones in the past. I can sense fight in him, but it's a fight for the right things. He doesn't attack unless he or a friend is threatened. He's very noble, brave, and willing to listen before jumping to conclusions. I'm glad I let him live. It was very cruel of me to attack without questioning first."

"I'm not glad," Luna replied bluntly.

Celestia sighed once again, "Please give him a chance, Luna. Perhaps when he is here, the two of you can have a chat before he leaves. Maybe you can see the war he has gone through. Come to think of it… I haven't read his mind yet."

"Sister, he was seen conversing with Nightmare Moon!" Luna exclaimed, "She shouldn't even exist right now! The Elements of Harmony should have killed her!"

"Perhaps he doesn't know the evil of Nightmare Moon," Celestia said, "Anyway, he's coming in a few hours. I have a gift for him."  
Luna glared at her, "You made a gift for him?!"  
"Why of course," Celestia replied, "I did almost kill him and make him jump out a window and bleed all the way to Ponyville. So yes, I think it was a good way of apologizing for the incident."

Luna bowed her head in both shame and anger. She felt bad for hating the human, but felt angry for feeling bad.

"This human better be worth the pain your causing me," Luna muttered.

_2 Hours Later_

Celestia was standing on the Canterlot Train Station's platform. She was informed the train would be arriving soon, and Michael was on board with her guards. She was sure Michael would love the gift she had crafted for him. It was the least she could do. Luna wasn't with her this time, angered that a human was coming to Canterlot.

Celestia grimaced, "Please don't do anything silly, Luna."

_On the train…_

The train was nearing Canterlot now. The ride had been peaceful, with Michael and Rarity complimenting the magnificent scenery from the side of the mountain.

But now they were nearing the platform, and Michael saw the beautiful white alicorn standing there, awaiting his arrival. Did he just think she was beautiful? He shook his head.

"Oh my," Rarity gasped, "The princess herself is here! You must be very special to her."

Michael smiled nervously while nodding in agreement. Both him and the princess barely know about each other. She probably doesn't really trust him, but feels bad about attacking him in the first place. The only time they really talked was before she would kill him, and in the throne room, which resulted in two heartbroken alicorns. So why is she being so kind? Maybe she wants to also have a chat about his life. She hasn't really known yet, unless she read his mind while he slept. But then she'd probably act hostile because she'd see Nightmare Moon…

The train screeched to a stop right by the platform. The doors opened and Rarity was the first to stand up.

"It was nice seeing you, Michael," Rarity said, "But I must go. I'm a bit late on schedule. I'll see you soon though, I'm sure!"

She gave Michael a quick hug before rushing out the door. But before she left, she bowed down to the princess.

When Rarity was on her way, Michael stepped out onto the platform, slightly smiling.

Celestia chuckled, "I see you have made friends with some of Ponyville's occupants."

"I have," Michael replied before smiling awkwardly, "Do I bow or something?"

Celestia frowned, "You must or you'll be thrown in the dungeon."

Michael and the princess laughed at the joke. "So what now?"

"We go back to my palace," Celestia replied before adding, "You had me worried sick."

The two walked on in silence down the streets of Canterlot. Celestia would address a few of her subjects while they looked at Michael in astonishment. Not fear, but curiosity. Michael still hated the attention.

"You sure we couldn't take a chariot or something?" Michael asked the princess.

"What?" she asked, "You don't like the attention?"

Michael bowed his head, "I don't."

This only added to Celestia's amusement. She grinned.

"I'm assuming that giving me a gift was not the only reason to summon me here," Michael said after a moment.

"You assume correct," she replied, "There are two other reasons. One, I'd like to know more about you, since you dove out a window before we could even talk."

Michael laughed, "That wasn't all that bad."

Celestia's expression became more serious, "And two, I want you to get more acquainted with my sister, Luna."

Michael's heart fell at those words. "Oh no. Nope. No can do, princess. You saw what happened last time. It just won't work."

"I understand how you feel," Celestia replied, "But you must try. She doesn't see you as a friend, but as a great threat against our kind. You must convince her. I don't want her to try anything she might regret."

Michael sighed. He knew she was right.

"Can you do that for me?" Celestia asked.

Michael bowed his head, "Sure, princess…"

Eventually a building came into view. The two were on a path that led to the building, with a bridge overlooking a stream. By the path were many open fields. Ponies wandered here and there going on about their business. Children, or in this case fillies and colts, were playing in the fields. But when they saw Michael, they stopped in their tracks and stared in awe. The princess is with some kind of creature?

"Cool place," Michael said.

"Thank you," the princess replied, "I always loved it here. It's a good place to release stress. Especially from Luna."

Michael looked at her. He was just now noticing that they were about the same height, but she would be much taller than any other regular human. "What do you mean?"

Celestia looked back at him, "Don't take it the wrong way. I love Luna with all my heart. I couldn't imagine life without her. But sometimes she just doesn't understand things. It was easy for you to convince me, but convincing her is a different matter."

"I see," Michael said, "When do you want me to do this?"

"After I give you your gift and after our chat."

They were crossing the bridge overlooking the stream. The sunlight reflected off the water perfectly. It gave Michael the perception of heaven itself. Yet he still longed for his true home.

Michael spoke quietly, "Princess, do you know how I got here?"

The question took Celestia back, but she replied, "Honestly, I have no idea. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that, the only thing I remember was walking in the forest by Ponyville on a rainy night," Michael replied.

"Strange," Celestia asked. Then a question popped up in her mind, "How did you even survive that night?"

The princess could tell that Michael was good at keeping a straight face. But she saw a hint of struggle in his eyes when he replied, "I found a small wedge in some rocks. I slept there, undisturbed until I found Ponyville the next morning."

Celestia knew the real answer. How he really survived. It disappointed her that Michael wasn't being truly honest with her. Apparently, that disappointment showed on her face since Michael asked, "What's wrong?"

Celestia forced a faint smile, "I'm fine, Michael."

The two made it to the palace doors. Two guards stood on either side at attention. When Celestia drew near, they bowed. Celestia smiled in return as the two guards stepped aside. But when they noticed a total strange creature walking along side their princess, they immediately kept an eye on him. They didn't trust him.

Celestia used magic to open the doors. She stepped through first, followed by Michael. The two walked down a narrow hallway silently. Michael gazed around him, slightly amazed at how big the place was.

"This place is pretty big," Michael muttered.

"Where are you going?" Celestia asked.

Michael looked around him and noticed he walked passed the hallway Celestia was in. The place took too much of his attention.

He stopped and turned around, "Oh. Sorry."

Celestia hid a laugh with a hoof.

They came to another set of doors. Celestia's horn began to glow as she opened the doors. Michael realized it was a throne room. But it didn't exactly look official. There were two thrones. One was white and outlined in yellow, with a bright and vibrant sun was perched on top. Michael assumed it was meant for Celestia.

The other throne was mainly black, but outlined with a dark blue. A bright white full moon was on top, instead of a sun. This throne was obviously for Luna.

"This doesn't seem exactly…" Michael began.

"Real?" Celestia finished for him, "It certainly isn't the official throne room." She turned to her guards, who Michael hadn't noticed were standing in every corner of the room. "Guards, please leave me and the human alone. I'll call you back in when the time is right."

The guards reacted with shock, "B-But princess!"

"Don't worry" Celestia smiled at Michael, "I'm sure the human won't attack me. Even if he were to do such a thing, I could easily dispatch him."

Michael groaned.

The guards reluctantly obeyed and filed out of the room. Celestia turned back to Michael. "Now stand back. I don't want you to be affected by any magic."

Michael nodded and stepped back. Celestia took a defensive stance towards her throne. She shut her eyes and concentrated. The horn on Celestia's head began to glow golden as she launched a white beam at the sun on the throne. The sun absorbed the light, and suddenly launched a blast of air as it began to spin rapidly. Michael stood there in awe. Who knew magic existed? Though he had seen it already, the wonders of it all still amaze him.

The spinning sun slowed to a halt as Celestia's magic stopped. It let out one last golden glow before the entire throne began to rumble. Michael jumped back as the floor in front of him began to open up, splitting the throne into two halves. What was left was a deep dark stairwell in the place of where the throne once was. Michael didn't have his helmet's night vision capabilities, so he was reluctant. "Do we have to go down there? It's way too dark."

"There is no need to worry," Celestia said calmly. She closed her eyes once more and her horn once again glowed. This time it was soft, meant for illuminating dark places. Michael shrugged, "Cool."

"After you," Celestia said as she gestured for him to go down first.

Michael cautiously took a step down.

"Go on. It's alright."

Since it didn't seem all that dangerous, he obeyed. As he moved down the stairs, he noticed Celestia behind him, illuminating the dark stairwell. It smelled of wet stone, with the occasional sound of water dripping in various places. Suddenly, the throne moved back into place, covering the entrance to the stairwell. Celestia had closed it.

They walked on in a few minutes of silence before Celestia said, "Why don't we start that chat now? It's quite a long way down."  
Michael nodded, "So what do you want to know?"

"Let's start off with where you were from."

"Ok," Michael took a breath, "I was born on Earth, well at least that's what I was told. You see, I was kidnapped at the age of four."

"Oh my. Why aren't you saddened by this?"

"Because it changed my life," Michael answered, "I've really never even known my mom or dad. Thinking about them doesn't even really trigger any feelings."

"How did it change your life?"

"The people who kidnapped me weren't criminals or anything. They were part of the United Nations Space Command, or UNSC for short. The UNSC was facing a revolution. The revolution went on for about thirty or forty years."

"A revolution?" Celestia asked, shocked, "You mean wars? Violence?"

"Sadly, yes." Michael muttered, "And the UNSC was having troubles with them. The rebels were very powerful at the time. The UNSC even considered just letting them have their independency, but the colonies they were fighting over were too valuable to just simply let go."

Celestia was still walking, but she looked speechless. Surely the violence wasn't killing. She hasn't had a war in Equestria since the Canterlot invasion of the Changelings. And the war that… killed her parents.

She shook her head to rid it of the harsh memories, "Did you have to… kill?"

Nightmare Moon told Michael that a war of death hasn't happened since the Human Invasion. So Michael expected Celestia to act this way.

"Yes…" He said, bowing his head.

Celestia didn't speak, so Michael did. "Since the UNSC couldn't stop the rebels, they started a project on super-soldiers. They began by kidnapping children at young ages, and I was one of them."

"You are one of those super-soldiers, aren't you?" Celestia asked slowly.

Michael ignored the question, "They put us through harsh training, at age four. By the time I was a preteen, they concluded I was ready for enhancements."

"What kind of enhancements?" Celestia asked.

"Augmentations. Increase in speed, height, endurance, strength, reaction time, and detection. Therefore making me alert at all times, listening for small sounds that could give away an enemies presence, and dispatch them."

"That explains the height…" Celestia muttered.

"When I turned fourteen, they made me fight a squad of the best marines in close combat." He bowed his head again, "It hurt to have to fight others, but I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could, and that was by proving that I'm useful."

"You killed them, didn't you?" Celestia asked, scared of what he might do if presented with the right situation.

"Thankfully, no." Celestia let out a sigh of relief. Michael continued, "I disabled every single one of them through broken legs and arms. It impressed the UNSC that I could control my attacks. If I wanted to kill, I'd kill. But I don't hurt others who don't deserve it."

"They didn't break you?" Celestia asked. Man was she full of questions.

"That's what their aim was. To break you at a young age and teach you to kill. They thought they got to me. But somewhere in my mind, I kept self-restraint. If you were trying to harm me, I'd jump to defense. I wouldn't attack you unless there was a valid reason. I'd try to talk to you, to ask you why you would be harming me. And if you were trying to kill me, the most I would do would be to disable you. I wouldn't kill you."

"Is that why you didn't fight back when I attacked you a few days ago?"

"Yes." Michael replied.

Michael noticed that they had reached the bottom of the staircase and were now at a solid wall. The wall had a golden seal on it, with a single hole placed in the center. Celestia stepped closer to it.

"We can continue our discussion later, Michael. Though there are many questions I am dying to ask you, they will have to wait. Especially about that revolution." She looked at him in the eyes. "I'm dearly sorry to hear about your pass, and even more sorry to ask you to tell it. Forgive me."

Michael was taken back, "It's fine, princess. It doesn't bother me much anymore."

"Please," Celestia said quietly, "Call me Celestia."

Michael smiled.

Celestia's horn began to glow again as she stuck it through the hole in the wall. The entire seal went from a dull gold to a bright, lively glow, illuminating the dark hallway they were in. Four gems on the seal that were once all grey, were now all alive with multiple colors. Purple, Yellow, Red, and Green. They each exploded with their own natural color and transformed the seal into a shining rainbow. Celestia, satisfied with her work, withdrew her horn and stepped back. The seal spun on its side, and split the entire wall in two. Both sides withdrew and revealed another hidden room.

"You're full of secrets, aren't you?" Michael asked.

"But of course," Celestia replied, "A princess like me must have her secrets."

Michael pondered his next question before asking, "Why are you showing me all this? One day you're trying to kill me, the next you're entrusting me with two hidden door ways."

"Trust me, I know that you won't speak of this."

Michael glared at her a moment, wondering what she truly meant by that.

"I guess I'll go in first."

Michael stepped into the room. Unlike the rest of the place, it was actually lit up. Flames burned on torches in each corner of the room. The walls and floor were made of a weird kind of stone. It had lines and symbols carved into it, giving it some sort of ancient feel. Michael surveyed the room, not finding much out of place.

"So what were you trying to show me? I don't see-" He stopped talking at what lay before him. It was right there, in the center of the room. He felt a rush of joy briefly enter his body, and then it turned into a feeling of grief.

Celestia looked at him with a worried look, "What's wrong?"

Michael said nothing. What he saw couldn't be real, for it was only in his dreams. But here it was, real as ever. He couldn't believe it. What lay before him was the suit of armor from his dreams.


End file.
